BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprentices are working in his Department and its agencies; of those, how many are (a) paid and (b) completing a qualification as part of the apprenticeship; and how many are aged (i) 16 to 18, (ii) 19 to 24 and (iii) 25 years and over.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and its agencies currently have 79 apprentices. All of these are paid and all are completing a qualification as part of the apprenticeship. Between the ages of 16-18 there is one apprentice, between 19-24 there are nine, 25+ there are 35. The ages of the remainder are unknown as this data is not currently recorded centrally.

Apprentices: Kingston upon Hull

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships were commenced in Hull in 2012; in what sectors; and how many of those apprenticeships were (a) offered at a junior level and (b) first advertised on the National Apprenticeship Service website.

Matthew Hancock: holding answer 15 January 2013
	Table 1 shows the provisional number of Apprenticeship programme starts in Kingston upon Hull local education authority by sector subject area and age, for the 2011/12 academic year. It was produced using the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) which is the comprehensive source of all Government-funded apprenticeship starts in England.
	The ILR does not record how each apprenticeship was advertised so information on which of the apprenticeships shown in Table 1 were advertised on the National Apprenticeship Service website is not available.
	Table 2 shows the numbers of apprenticeship vacancies located in Kingston upon Hull posted on the National Apprenticeship Service apprenticeship vacancies online system by sector subject area between August 2011 and December 2012 (as at December 2012). This system can only capture information on vacancies made available by registered employers so figures may not be comprehensive.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts in Kingston upon Hull by sector subject area and age, 2011/12 (provisional) 
			 Sector subject area Under 19 19-24 25+ Total 
			 Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care 10 10 — 20 
			 Arts, Media and Publishing — — — 10 
		
	
	
		
			 Business, Administration and Law 370 300 510 1,180 
			 Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 150 40 10 200 
			 Education and Training — — 40 40 
			 Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 200 80 150 430 
			 Health, Public Services and Care 70 130 380 580 
			 Information and Communication Technology 50 10 20 80 
			 Leisure, Travel and Tourism 30 30 20 80 
			 Retail and Commercial Enterprise 160 190 260 610 
			 Science and Mathematics — — — — 
			 Unknown — — — — 
			 Total 1,040 800 1,390 3,230 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. ‘—’ Indicates a base value of less than five. 3. Age is based on age at the start of the programme. 4. Geographic breakdowns are based upon the home postcode of the learner. 5. Figures are based on the geographic boundaries as of May 2010. 6. Provisional data for 2011/12 should not be directly compared with data for earlier years. Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Apprenticeship vacancies posted in Kingston upon Hull by sector subject area, August 2011 to December 2012, as of December 2012 
			 Sector subject area August 2011 to July 2012 August 2012 to December 2012 
			 Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care — — 
			 Arts, Media and Publishing — — 
			 Business, Administration and Law 170 90 
			 Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 20 — 
			 Education and Training — — 
			 Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 100 10 
			 Health, Public Services and Care 30 50 
			 Information and Communication Technology 20 10 
			 Leisure, Travel and Tourism — — 
			 Retail and Commercial Enterprise 40 30 
			 Science and Mathematics — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Unknown — — 
			 Total 380 200 
			 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. ‘—’ indicates a value of less than five. 3. Geographic information is based on the location of the apprenticeship vacancy. 4. All apprenticeships vacancies adverts posted on the Apprenticeship vacancy website are open to individuals of all ages, therefore none are offered at ‘junior’ level. Source: National Apprenticeship Service Apprenticeship Vacancy Reports (as at end of December 2012)

Business: Advisory Services

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many business mentors are currently available through the mentorsme.co.uk portal.

Michael Fallon: Mentorsme.co.uk, Britain's online mentoring portal, which is funded and operated by the British Bankers Association, now provides a single point of access to over 114 mentoring organisations. Latest official figures, announced at the MADE festival in September, indicate that there were around 22,000 business mentors accessible via the portal and this number continues to grow.

Business: Billing

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to speed up payments for services made by larger companies to small and medium-sized businesses; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: I understand the pressures that businesses experience through late payment and we have been actively working with business and the finance community to understand where Government intervention can be helpful.
	Businesses overwhelmingly tell us that they do not want new legislation as they rely upon their relationships with customers, and resorting to legal action might generate payment but at a cost to that relationship in the longer term. So we are working to educate businesses and to change the culture of late payment.
	I have written to the chief executives of all companies in the FTSE350 list urging them to sign up to the Institute of Credit Management's Prompt Payment Code. The code's signatories must pay their bills on time to maintain membership and are required to give two supplier references before they can be accepted. The code gives small and medium-sized businesses confidence when dealing with larger suppliers that they are publically committed to paying promptly.
	The Department is currently reviewing the responses of the FTSE350 companies contacted. I intend to publicise shortly those firms which still choose not to be signatories to the Prompt Payment Code.

Comet Group

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with executives of Comet and its owners since May 2010; at how many such meetings the future of the firm's UK operations were discussed; and on what dates any such meetings took place.

Jo Swinson: All Ministers' meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website which the hon. Member can access using the following hyperlink.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-innovation-skills/series/bis-quarterly-publications-april-to-june-2012
	Information on any meetings between officials and Comet is not held centrally.

Foreign Investment in UK: North East

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many UK Trade and Investment inward investment delegations have visited the North East since May 2010; and what companies were represented in those delegations.

Michael Fallon: A wide and diverse range of national, regional or private organisations regularly visit regions including the north east. Such visits by delegations indirectly support overall delivery. UK Trade and Investment records show that from April 2010, 145 foreign direct investments have been made within the north east of England generating 17,632 jobs of which 10,462 are new to the region.
	During 2012/13 to date, 69 foreign investors have shown a keen interest in investing exclusively in the north east. Some 40% of these opportunities originate from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Since April 2012, the top sectors for foreign investors in the north east have been software and computer services, automotive and mechanical, and electrical and process engineering.

Foreign Investment in UK: North East

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what measures and programmes UK Trade and Investment has to attract inward investment to the North East.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), through a range of services assists overseas companies to bring high quality investment to the UK. It promotes a UK first approach working with local partners to present the strengths of the UK as an investment location.
	UKTI is engaging closely through offices in the region with the North Eastern Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Tees Valley Unlimited, (on behalf of Tees Valley LEP) to maximise opportunities for collaboration across the region. This includes: working interactively to identify local strengths and opportunities for potential foreign investors and developing local propositions in response to specific opportunities. At present there is particular interest in the software and computer services, automotive and mechanical, and electrical and process engineering sectors in the north east of England. The LEPs are in turn working with local authorities to provide services to foreign investors including property relocation advice, market research, business development and support.

Foreign Students: EU Countries

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether UK students studying in universities in other EU member states are eligible for student financing; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: Maintenance loans and grants are available to English students undertaking a period of study abroad, provided that period of study forms a part of the course that they are taking at a higher education institution within the UK. For example, Erasmus students studying abroad for a year (or part of a year) remain eligible for maintenance support. The Government also supports other students studying for up to a year abroad—these students remain eligible for a tuition-fee loan and remain eligible to receive maintenance grants and loans.
	UK students have the freedom to attend a university anywhere in Europe and benefit from whatever fee support that country offers to its ‘home’ students.
	There are no student support arrangements in place in England for those students seeking to study their whole degree outside the UK. Therefore students in England that choose to study at higher education institutions outside the UK are not eligible to receive student support, including maintenance grants and loans, from Student Finance England.

New Businesses

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many premises in each region are available under the Start Up Spaces scheme.

Michael Fallon: holding answer 14 January 2013
	Officials from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Government Property Unit continue to work on our commitment to provide vacant Government space to SMEs to help them grow. Government Departments identified 24 locations with potential, and contract negotiations are currently taking place between Departments and preferred bidders to run some of these buildings in the first phase of this initiative. Issues such as location and the date by which firms will be able to access premises under the scheme are dependent on the conclusion of those negotiations. Until that point the work continues to be commercially sensitive.

Patents

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many UK manufacturers have indicated to his Department that they will use patent boxes; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The Patent Box legislation commences on 1 April 2013 and a company has two years from the end of their accounting period to elect into the Patent Box regime. It is not until this point that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be in a position to know how many UK manufacturers will use the Patent Box.
	HMRC and BIS are actively promoting the Patent Box and encouraging companies to consider whether they can benefit from making a Patent Box election.
	Some companies have indicated to the Intellectual Property Office that they may increase patent filings as a result of the tax break being introduced and anecdotal comments from others suggest that some companies who have not previously engaged with the patent system are considering doing do as a result of Patent Box implementation.

Regional Growth Fund: Yorkshire and the Humber

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the monetary value was of payments made from the Regional Growth Fund to businesses located in Hull and East Yorkshire by 1 January 2013.

Michael Fallon: A total of £28,200,000 has been paid from the Regional Growth Fund to applicants located in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire by 1 January 2013.

Royal Mail: Pensions

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many members of the Royal Mail Pension Plan are resident in Scotland; and how many such members are (a) employee members, (b) early leavers with a deferred pension entitlement and (c) pensioner members;
	(2)  what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of Royal Mail Pension Plan liabilities which apply to Scotland.

Michael Fallon: The Royal Mail Pension Plan is the operational responsibility of Royal Mail and the Government does not play a role in the ongoing administration of this scheme.
	As this is an operational matter I have therefore asked the chief executive of Royal Mail, Moya Greene, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Supermarkets: Unfair Practices

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the recent Which? report on misleading supermarket offers.

Jo Swinson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 746W.

Trade Promotion: India

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  who has led trade delegations to India since May 2010;
	(2)  how many trade delegations have visited India since May 2010.

Michael Fallon: There have been 55 UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) sponsored trade missions to India since May 2010. These trade missions to India have been led by UK Ministers (the Prime Minister; the Chancellor of the Exchequer; the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable); the Minister for Universities and Science, the right hon. Member for Havant (Mr Willetts); and my noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint); devolved Administration Ministers (Northern Ireland First Minister, Peter Robinson; and Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness) as well as officials from UKTI headquarters and regional teams.

TREASURY

Aviation

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many air miles were accumulated by each Minister in his Department in 2012; how such air miles were used; and whether such air miles were donated to charity.

Sajid Javid: Treasury Ministers abide by the rules on the use of air miles as set out in the Ministerial Code.
	The Code is available from:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/409215/ministerialcodemay2010.pdf

Bank Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the issue of dormant bank accounts was first (a) given consideration and (b) raised in public by his Department.

Greg Clark: The Government is not accountable for events which took place under a previous Administration.
	In May 2010, the Government announced that the English portion of dormant account funds will be allocated to the new Big Society Bank this will provide an important source of finance for neighbourhood groups, charities, and social enterprises.

Business: Loans

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider introducing a loan guarantee scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises to increase lending from commercial banks.

Greg Clark: The Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme offers a Government guarantee that enables commercial banks to provide additional debt finance to small and medium-sized enterprises that lack sufficient security but can demonstrate that they have capacity to repay a loan in full. £200 million of loans were supported in 2012. Further information on the scheme is available on the website of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Data Protection

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions each Minister in his Department carried classified documents on public transport in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Sajid Javid: This information is not held. Ministers handle official information in accordance with Government guidance.

Gift Aid

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the contribution from the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office of 8 January 2013, Official Report, column 68WH, on Charities (Donation), if he will consider introducing a tendering process at the end of each financial year to allow claims to be made by charities for any unclaimed Gift Aid.

Sajid Javid: Gift Aid allows charities to reclaim the basic rate tax on a donation made by a UK taxpayer who has paid sufficient income or capital gains tax that year to cover the amount being claimed.
	To operate Gift Aid as a tax relief, the donor must knowingly give permission for their donation to have Gift Aid claimed upon it. Government have no information about the donations on which Gift Aid could be, but has not been, claimed. Not all donors can, or want, to donate under Gift Aid.
	The Government works with charities to identify ways to facilitate uptake of Gift Aid, both by making it easier for donors to give their informed consent, and making the administration of Gift Aid simpler for charities. For example, HMRC is introducing a new IT system to allow charities to claim Gift Aid online, simplifying and speeding up the claims process. The Government also announced at the autumn statement that it would examine whether the administration of Gift Aid can be improved to reflect new ways of giving money to charity, in particular digital giving.

Income Tax: Rebates

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to HM Revenue and Customs is of making individual income tax refunds (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

David Gauke: The information is as follows:
	(a) The cost of making individual income tax refunds electronically is:
	(i) Via BACS £0.009
	(ii) Via CHAPS £0.25
	(b) The cost of making individual income tax refunds by payable order (cheque) is: £0.29
	The costs shown above are the transaction charges levied by HMRC's bankers (and print and post costs for payable orders). They do not include other costs associated with making the payments such as system development/maintenance, depreciation of assets, and staff time.

Income Tax: Rebates

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many income tax refund payments of (a) under £1, (b) under £10 and (c) under £100 were made in the latest year for which figures are available.

David Gauke: The information requested is available only at a disproportionate cost.

Members: Correspondence

Dominic Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Chief Secretary to the Treasury intends to reply to the letter 24 October 2012 from the hon. Member for Esher and Walton with regard to Mr Richard Catling.

Danny Alexander: I have replied to the hon. Member.

NHS Commissioning Board: Pay

Tessa Munt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he approved the salaries of the (a) Chief Executive, (b) Non-Executive Chairman and (c) the National Directors on the Executive Board of the NHS Commissioning Board.

Sajid Javid: The Chancellor does not routinely approve senior salaries in the public sector.
	They are subject to scrutiny and approval from the appropriate Secretary of State. In May 2010, it was announced that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, my right hon. Friend the Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), would be required to sign-off any new appointments, in areas under ministerial control, with a salary over a full-time equivalent of £142,500.

Redundancy

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many Civil Service posts have been made redundant by his Department in each year since 1999; and what has been the cost of redundancies in each such year;
	(2)  how many posts have been declared redundant by each of his Department's executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1999; and what has been the cost of those redundancies in each such year.

Sajid Javid: Within HM Treasury, redundancy or voluntary redundancy applies when a group or team is restructured or when work ceases to exist and staff are in a displaced situation. Staff may be offered voluntary redundancy if they are not redeployed within HM Treasury or another Government Department.
	No posts have been made redundant in HM Treasury since 1999.
	On 31 October the Asset Protection Agency (APA) ceased. During the period leading to the closedown 19 staff were offered voluntary exit, voluntary redundancy and compulsory redundancy. The cost of these exits was £1,085,000.
	Since 2011 details of HM Treasury recruitments and redundancies are published in its latest annual report and accounts (HC 984).

Revenue and Customs

Kate Hoey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what support HM Revenue and Customs provides to disabled people when completing self-assessment tax return forms;
	(2)  what provision is made by HM Revenue and Customs to assist people with ADHD to complete self-assessment tax return forms.

David Gauke: HMRC provides a self assessment telephone help line which helps customers with queries about completion of self assessment tax returns. There is also extensive guidance for customers on the HMRC internet site.

Revenue and Customs

Kate Hoey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps are taken by HM Revenue and Customs to make its services accessible to people with disabilities;
	(2)  what steps HM Revenue and Customs takes to assist service users with autistic spectrum disorders.

David Gauke: The HMRC website provides full details of specific services that are offered by HMRC to customers with disabilities. HMRC also ensures that all of its internet products are accessible to people with disabilities using accessibility software.
	HMRC provides alternative printed or audio format products to help people with a range of disabilities. The Department also provides a range of contact channels to help customers with different needs. These include telephone help lines and face to face meetings.
	HMRC continues to work with a range of voluntary sector organisations to understand the needs of disabled customers and to ensure services are as accessible as possible. The Department also supports the voluntary sector to help disadvantaged and disabled customers through the provision of grant funding.

Revenue and Customs

Kate Hoey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how HM Revenue and Customs ensures it makes reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 to self-assessment tax return forms for those with disabilities; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: All HMRC forms are accessible and available in alternative formats as reasonable adjustments for those with disabilities. Self-assessment returns can also be made online which helps many people with disabilities who have access to the internet.

Revenue and Customs

Kate Hoey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assistance HM Revenue and Customs gives to people with ADHD when completing working tax credit claim forms.

David Gauke: HMRC provides extensive help on its internet site and a telephone help line to help tax credits claimants.

Revenue and Customs

Kate Hoey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what training HM Revenue and Customs provides to staff on dealing with people with disabilities;
	(2)  what training HM Revenue and Customs provides to staff on dealing with people with autistic spectrum disorders.

David Gauke: Disability training in HMRC does not cover specific disorders, such as people with autistic spectrum disorders, although training helps HMRC equip staff with the skills to understand and address the needs of disabled colleagues and customers.
	All staff in HMRC receive mandatory diversity training which covers disability. A specific training package on disability is also available to managers. For customer facing staff, a "Just Ask" disability awareness training package is aimed at helping them assist disabled customers.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Nick Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer further to recommendation 26 of the 16th Report of the Treasury Committee, Session 2010-12, HC 731, entitled Administration and effectiveness of HM Revenue and Customs, what steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken to examine its processes for call handling and for referring complex tax issues to suitably qualified and experienced staff.

David Gauke: Following the success of the Closer Working Project in tax credits, which has allowed contact centre staff to deal with a greater range of complex issues, HMRC has expanded this approach into taxes. This includes introducing improvements to the way they answer employer, PAYE and self-assessment queries.
	HMRC contact centre staff receive appropriate training to enable them to handle the majority of calls received. This is reinforced with regular quality reviews and improved guidance to help staff identify calls that need to be referred to technical specialists. HMRC continues to examine its escalation processes to reduce referrals. This work will continue across the SR10 period and beyond.

Revenue and Customs: Training

Nick Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether and when training modules covering (a) commercial understanding and (b) complex case working skills have been introduced by HM Revenue and Customs for its staff.

David Gauke: HMRC has a number of commercial awareness learning products developed for specific HMRC business areas:
	Customer insight: Strengthening commercial insight—available from 2009
	Commercial Awareness Foundation for VAT, excise and international trade—available from 2003
	Commercial understanding: Increasing financial awareness workbooks 1 and 2—available from 2008
	Debt management—financial and commercial awareness pre course reading—available from 2003
	In addition, as part of the civil service wide core skills development offering, commercial awareness modules are available to HMRC staff via Civil Service Learning.
	HMRC tax professionals engaged in complex case work will all have successfully completed a rigorous four year training and development programme and have completed challenging work assessments too.

Revenue and Customs: Training

Nick Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what role-specific in-depth training for non-technical skills has been put in place by HM Revenue and Customs; and when such training was put in place in each case.

David Gauke: The information is as follows:
	Role specific non technical skills
	HMRC has 21 professions, including our tax profession, each one having a professional curriculum available for all technical skills and knowledge as well as standard setting and accreditation where this is required.
	Non-technical training is provided by Civil Service Learning (CSL).
	HMRC, along with the rest of the civil service, moved onto the Civil Service Learning framework in April 2011.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many companies completed (a) electronic and (b) paper format corporation tax self-assessment forms in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: The information is held in relation to financial years running from 1 April to 31 March. The numbers of returns received by HMRC, rounded to the nearest 5,000, were as follows:
	
		
			  Filed electronically Filed on paper 
			 Year to 31 March 2008 155,000 1,335,000 
			 Year to 31 March 2009 260,000 1,340,000 
			 Year to 31 March 2010 425,000 1,175,000 
			 Year to 31 March 2011 690,000 985,000 
			 Year to 31 March 2012 1,505,000 60,000

Taxation: Self-assessment

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals paying income tax completed (a) electronic and (b) paper format self-assessment tax forms in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: Self-assessment is not exclusive to income tax payers and includes a number of customer groups. The information requested about income tax payers is available only at a disproportionate cost.

VAT: Tower Hamlets

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on listed buildings in Tower Hamlets of applying the full rate of VAT to approved alterations to listed buildings.

David Gauke: A Tax Impact and Information Note setting out the Government's assessment of the impacts of the policy at the national level was published on Budget Day 2012. This is available on the HMRC website at the following link:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/tiins.htm

VAT: Tower Hamlets

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of the potential effect on self-storage businesses in Tower Hamlets of applying the full rate of VAT to self-storage businesses.

David Gauke: A Tax Impact and Information Note setting out the Government's assessment of the impacts of the policy at the national level was published on Budget Day 2012 and is available on the HMRC website at the following link:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/tiins.htm

TRANSPORT

Automatic Number Plate Recognition: Garages and Petrol Stations

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress he has made on plans to introduce automatic number plate recognition cameras to petrol stations in order to stop uninsured drivers from filling their cars with petrol.

Stephen Hammond: The idea to introduce automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras at petrol filling stations is innovative and has merit. However, further work is needed to establish how it could work in practice and work alongside existing enforcement measures.
	Under the Continuous Insurance Enforcement scheme, we are able to identify uninsured vehicles from database comparison without relying on having to catch sight of vehicles in use.

Aviation

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many air miles were accumulated by each Minister in his Department in 2012; how such air miles were used; and whether such air miles were donated to charity.

Norman Baker: The Information is not held. Air miles and other benefits earned through travel paid for from public funds are treated in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

Official Cars

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on providing a government car for the Leader of the Opposition since September 2010.

Stephen Hammond: The cost incurred by the Cabinet Office for the provision of a government car to the Leader of the Official Opposition since September 2010 is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 1 September 2010 – 31 March 2011 33,592.71 
			 1 April 2011 – 31 March 2012 56,645.05 
			 1 April 2012 – 31 December 2012 45,032.74 
		
	
	On top of this figure, a proportion of the cost is paid by the parliamentary Labour party. The above amounts also exclude VAT. This is consistent with the practice for the previous Leader of the Official Opposition.

Official Cars

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the date of each occasion on which the Leader of the Opposition has booked use of a government car, the destination of travel on each such occasion, and the total mileage recorded as a result of such journeys since September 2010.

Stephen Hammond: The government car service provides an allocated car for the Leader of the Official Opposition. No other cars have been booked for use through the government car service since September 2010. This is consistent with the practice for the previous Leader of the Official Opposition.
	The allocated car is managed by the Leader of the Opposition's Office and the requested information is not held by the government car service.

Rescue Services

Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department has made towards the awarding of the new Search and Rescue helicopter contract; how the proposed timescale for the awarding of the contract will effect the existing interim contract; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: There has been no change to the schedule, and contract signature for the new Search and Rescue (SAR) service is still scheduled for spring.
	The new arrangements will ensure service continuity, both when the MOD withdraws from SAR in 2016 and when the MCA helicopter contracts expire in 2017.

Traffic Commissioners

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the budget of the Office of Traffic Commissioners is for 2012-13; and what the comparable figure is for the Office of Rail Regulation.

Stephen Hammond: The Office of the Traffic Commissioners budget for 2012-13 is £7 million and the Office of Rail Regulation budget for 2012-13 is £30.7 million.

Unemployed People: Travel

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the effectiveness of the Bus for Jobs initiative.

Norman Baker: Bus for Jobs is a commercial concession offered by participating operators in Great Britain. The Department for Work and Pensions worked with the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK and Greener Journeys to design, implement and announce the initiative. I am encouraged that bus operators are taking part in Bus for Jobs in January 2013, and look forward to the industry's initial assessment about how it has worked at the Bus Partnership Forum later this month.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to prevent the building of offshore wind farms in the waters and shipping lanes between the Isle of Man and Heysham Port.

Stephen Hammond: As statutory consultees on offshore wind farm developments, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and General Lighthouse Authorities ensure that navigational safety concerns are considered prior to any planning consent being granted. In the case of the Celtic Array development project no planning application has yet been submitted by developers in the North of their zone which includes the waters between Heysham and Isle of Man.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Aviation

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many air miles were accumulated by each Minister in her Department in 2012; how such air miles were used; and whether such air miles were donated to charity.

Theresa Villiers: The Northern Ireland Office does not keep records of air miles accrued by Ministers. Departmental travel policy stipulates that any awards arising out of membership of frequent traveller schemes should be utilised where possible for future business travel and not for private purposes.

Data Protection

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions each Minister in her Department carried classified documents on public transport in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Theresa Villiers: This information is not held. Ministers handle official information in accordance with Government guidance.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the total of greenhouse gas emissions was for (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) Wales in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and what the forest carbon sink in each area represented as a proportion of those emissions.

Gregory Barker: The UK compiles an annual inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in accordance with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The most recent inventory was published in April 2012, and covers the period 1990-2010. Each year the inventory is updated to include the latest data available. Improvements to the methodology are backdated as necessary to ensure a consistent time series. UK figures for the 1990-2011 inventory will be published mid-January 2013, with the breakdown by devolved Administration published in April 2013.
	Note that under agreed reporting criteria, emissions of greenhouse gases are reported by calendar year (rather than financial year as requested in the PQQ), and that the most recent data available are for 2010.
	Using the 1990-2010 Greenhouse Gas inventory, the total net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2010 were as follows:
	
		
			  MtCO2e 
			 UK 568.78 
			 England 448.44 
			 Scotland 53.24 
			 Northern Ireland 20.46 
			 Wales 46.64 
		
	
	The total forest carbon sink (expressed as a negative emission value) for 2010 with the percentage of the total net emissions provided in parenthesis was as follows:
	
		
			  MtCO2e Percentage 
			 UK -10.55 1.86 
			 England -2.12 0.47 
			 Scotland -7.58 14.24 
			 Northern Ireland -0.54 2.64 
			 Wales -0.32 0.69 
		
	
	This forest carbon sink contains carbon stock changes in living and dead biomass and soils but not the harvested wood products pool in accordance with UNFCCC reporting requirements.

Natural Gas: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which locations in Wales he has identified as possible sites for shale gas development.

John Hayes: It is for the holders of petroleum licences to decide which locations within their licensed areas they regard as suitable for exploration for any kind of petroleum, and to seek planning permission and other consents accordingly. The areas of the UK currently subject to petroleum licences can be seen at:
	http://og.decc.gov.uk/assets/og/data-maps/maps/landfields-lics.pdf

Natural Gas: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the potential value of shale gas assets in Wales;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that will be created in Wales if shale gas is extracted on a commercial basis.

John Hayes: Exploration for shale gas is at a very early stage in the UK, and no estimate can yet be made of the size of any economic reserve which may exist, or of the economic benefits which might flow from its exploitation.

Natural Gas: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received from the Welsh Government on the exploitation of Welsh shale gas resources.

John Hayes: No such representations have been received.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he has to include domestic boilers over 45kw in the renewable heat incentive.

Gregory Barker: The Government has consulted on proposals for a domestic RHI, the consultation closed on 7 December. In the consultation we set out that we planned to exclude installations over 45 kWth from the scheme as these installations are not currently covered by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).
	In the consultation we asked for views on these proposals and gave respondents the opportunity to suggest changes. We are currently reviewing responses as we finalise the policy.

Sick Leave

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2012, Official Report, column 772W, on sick leave, if he will make an assessment of the contribution mindfulness-based practice can make to reducing workplace stress and staff absences in his Department.

Gregory Barker: We previously advised in our answer given to the hon. Member on 18 December 2012, Official Report, columns 772-74W,
	“DECC understands that mindfulness-based therapies can be used as a treatment for depression and recognises that this can be one of the factors involved in staff ill health absences. However if this is the case, DECC would leave the treatment to the medical profession, using our Occupational Health partners to advise us of the most appropriate approach.”
	We do not employ medically qualified staff who could make such an assessment and will continue to use our Occupational Health partners, and if appropriate refer any staff requiring this type of treatment to the appropriate professional.

WALES

Enterprise Zones

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on enhanced capital allowances for enterprise zones in Wales.

David Jones: My Department was in discussions with Treasury prior to the autumn statement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-882. The Welsh Government proposed for two additional enterprise zones in Wales to benefit from enhanced capital allowances and I am delighted that following those discussions both were announced in the autumn statement.

Energy Costs

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the effect of energy costs on the cost of living for people in Wales.

Stephen Crabb: The Government are ensuring that millions of households will be moved to the best energy deal for them, by summer 2014 customers will be on the cheapest tariff that meets their preferences.

Aviation

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many air miles were accumulated by each Minister in his Department in 2012; how such air miles were used; and whether such air miles were donated to charity.

Stephen Crabb: During 2012 no air miles were accumulated by Ministers in the Wales Office.

Data Protection

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions each Minister in his Department carried classified documents on public transport in the last 12 months for which information is available.

David Jones: This information is not held. Ministers handle official information in accordance with Government guidance.

Police and Crime Commissioners

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the newly elected Police and Crime Commissioners in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

David Jones: I had a very useful meeting with the four Welsh Police and Crime Commissioners this week and will continue to meet them on a regular basis.
	Police and Crime Commissioners have an important role to work with the police to cut crime, give the public a voice at the highest level, hold forces to account and help restore trust.

Remploy

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with trades unions and disability and carers' organisations on securing employment for the most vulnerable past and present employees of Remploy plants in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

David Jones: The UK Government has had discussions about the closure of Remploy factories with trade unions and disability organisations on a number of occasions, at meetings, stakeholder events, and during visits to the sites affected. The Remploy People Help and Support Package delivers tailored support to those disabled people who have left Remploy. During an 18 month transition period, after leaving Remploy, every disabled individual has access to a Personal Case Worker, a personal budget and additional support. The UK Government has also set up a Community Support Fund to provide grants to local organisations to support the individuals affected by the Remploy factory closures.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what part he expects women's civil society organisations to play in the building of peace and prosperity in Afghanistan.

Alistair Burt: We expect women's civil society organisations to play a full role in contributing to building peace and prosperity in Afghanistan. We will continue to make clear to the Government of Afghanistan that any political process should be inclusive and address the concerns of all Afghan citizens. We continue our dialogue with the Afghan Government, Afghan institutions, international partners and national and international civil society groups to engage with, and support each other, in our work to implement UNSCR 1325 in Afghanistan.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government plans to commence discussions with the US administration on the renegotiation of the current agreements on the use of Diego Garcia.

Mark Simmonds: The 1966 Exchange of Notes with the US provides that the islands of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), including Diego Garcia, shall be available to them until 2016 and continuing thereafter for a further period of 20 years unless terminated by either Government in the period 2014-16. There have been no substantive discussions to date with the US on the future of their presence in BIOT post-2016, but we look forward to discussing this with them in due course.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the US military and government on the modalities of enabling Chagossian people to live again in the British Indian Ocean Territory; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds: Now that the litigation in the European Court of Human Rights is concluded, the Government is taking stock of our policy towards the resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory, as we have always said we would. Chagossians have always been able to apply for work on the US facility on Diego Garcia. A small number of Chagossians have been employed on Diego Garcia in recent years.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how he plans to engage with Chagossian groups and other interested parties with respect to identifying and settling difficulties concerning the resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Mark Simmonds: Now that the litigation in the European Court of Human Rights is concluded, the Government is taking stock of our policy towards the resettlement of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and options are currently being considered. There are fundamental difficulties with resettlement in BIOT, but we will be as positive as possible in our engagement with Chagossian groups and all interested parties.

British Indian Ocean Territory

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people are resident on Diego Garcia, by nationality.

Mark Simmonds: There are no permanent residents in Diego Garcia. As of 1 January 2013 there were 2,973 people working in the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Data Protection

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions each Minister in his Department carried classified documents on public transport in the last 12 months for which information is available.

David Lidington: This information is not recorded. Ministers handle official information in accordance with government guidance.

Embassies

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the security of UK embassies and consulates against cyber attack.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) takes the protection of its information, including electronic information, very seriously, and complies with the Cabinet Office Security Policy Framework, which covers all areas of security, including technical, physical, procedural and personnel security. The FCO adopts an approach to the security of its IT systems, both in the UK and at overseas posts, which encompasses all these areas of security. This is a continual process with regular testing of security controls in place and remedial action taken where necessary.

Eritrea

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has held with the Government of Eritrea and civil society groups concerning human rights in that country.

Mark Simmonds: Bilaterally in London and Asmara and as part of the EU, we have made clear that we expect Eritrea to make concrete and rapid progress on their international human rights obligations. I raised our human rights concerns with the Eritrean presidential adviser at UNGA in September. Most recently, on 11 December last year, our ambassador, with EU counterparts, raised the full range of our human rights concerns, including the detention of political prisoners, journalists and religious minorities, with senior representatives of the Eritrean Government. In December, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials in London discussed human rights issues and called for access for UN special rapporteurs with the Eritrean ambassador.
	FCO officials in London meet regularly with representatives of the Eritrean diaspora and civil society.

Gibraltar

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to his EU counterparts to ensure that, in the EU decision-making process on aviation measures, full consideration is given to the decision by the government of Gibraltar to spend £80 million on a new air terminal to comply with its commitments under the Cordoba Agreement.

David Lidington: Yes, the UK will ensure that others are aware that Gibraltar fulfilled its commitment to build a new airport terminal. The construction of a new air terminal was a commitment made by Gibraltar under the Cordoba Agreement of 2006. As part of this Agreement, Spain committed to include Gibraltar airport in all future EU aviation measures. The UK will do all it can to protect Gibraltar's aviation interests and hold Spain to its commitments under the Cordoba Agreement.

Gibraltar

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that Spain complies with its obligations under the Cordoba Agreement.

David Lidington: As part of regular diplomatic engagement, the UK continues to encourage Spain to comply with its commitments under the 2006 Cordoba Agreement, which represented a significant step forward in cooperation between the UK, Spain and Gibraltar. The UK continues to recognise the value of dialogue and supports a return to a trilateral process in which Gibraltar is actively involved. The UK makes this position clear to Spain whenever it is appropriate to do so.

Gibraltar

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that Gibraltar Airport is not excluded from EU aviation measures.

David Lidington: As part of the Cordoba Agreement, Spain committed to including Gibraltar airport in all future EU aviation measures. The UK, working closely with the Government of Gibraltar, will do all it can to protect Gibraltar's aviation interests across a range of legislation and hold Spain to its commitments under the Cordoba Agreement.

Israel

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many electoral observers from the UK he proposes will be present during parliamentary elections in Israel scheduled for 22 January 2013.

Alistair Burt: The UK is not sending any official observers for the parliamentary elections in Israel on 22 January 2013. The British embassy in Tel Aviv will continue to follow the elections closely including visiting polling stations on the election day.

Jordan

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many electoral observers from the UK he proposes will be present during the parliamentary elections in Jordan scheduled for 23 January 2013.

Alistair Burt: The official EU Observer Mission for the Jordanian parliamentary elections is being headed by one British national and includes another. In addition, members of the British embassy will be accredited by the Jordanian Independent Elections Commission (IEC) and will be unofficially observing the elections on the day.

Jordan

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Jordanian Government on the upcoming parliamentary elections in that country.

Alistair Burt: The forthcoming parliamentary elections in Jordan on 23 January have been an important subject in the Government's recent discussions with King Abdullah and the Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour. This includes during the King's visit to London on 11 December 2012 and my visit to Amman on 18 November 2012. We agreed on the importance of free, fair and inclusive elections resulting in a parliament and government able to undertake the political and economic reforms necessary for Jordan's long-term stability and prosperity.

Pakistan

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the (a) nature and (b) monetary value was of counternarcotics assistance given by his Department to the Pakistani government in each of the last six financial years; and what expenditure in each category of assistance is planned in the (i) current and (ii) next financial year.

Alistair Burt: We provide counternarcotics assistance to a range of international partners, including Pakistan. We do so to tackle the international drugs trade and minimise the threat it poses to the UK. However, it is our policy not to disclose details of that work where it relates to national security and protection of operational information, as to do so may reduce its effectiveness.

Pakistan

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken in providing financial support to the Pakistani Anti Narcotics Police, to ensure that no such support can contribute in any way to Pakistani efforts to impose capital punishment on those arrested for drug offences.

Alistair Burt: We take human rights very seriously and strongly oppose the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, including for drugs offences. The Government published Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) Guidance in 2011, which provides clear guidance to officials and law enforcement officers to help them identify human rights risks. Under OSJA guidance, where human rights risks are identified, the Government seeks to mitigate risks by a range of methods. For instance we can seek assurances that UK cooperation will not lead to torture or prosecutions that result in the death penalty, and have a clear exit strategy if the assurances are not met. This ensures that any assistance we provide supports our values and is consistent with our international obligations, including on capital punishment.

Syria

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to (a) support and help the Syrian opposition and (b) enable greater support for the protection of civilians in Syria.

Alistair Burt: We are providing both political and practical, non-lethal support to the Syrian opposition. We are working with the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and opposition forces to build their capacity as a credible alternative to the current regime. Our practical support, now totalling £9.4 million, includes communication equipment, power generators and water purification kits. We are building the capacity of local activist networks to provide essential services where the regime is no longer in control and we are training human rights activists and journalists. Following the December meeting of the Friends of Syria in Morocco support for the opposition coalition continues to grow with over 130 countries now recognising it as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
	As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), announced to Parliament on 10 January, he attended the Foreign Affairs Council on 10 December 2012 along with my EU counterparts, where the EU agreed language noting that “the current situation is unsustainable and does not allow adequate protection of civilians”. We will hold further discussions with EU member states shortly on options to support and help the opposition and to enable greater support for the protection of civilians in Syria.

Syria

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions Ministers and officials in his Department and UK diplomatic staff have had with representatives of the Iranian Government on the situation in Syria since the closure of the British embassy in Tehran in 2011.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed Syria with Iranian Foreign Minister Salehi in the margins of the Heart of Asia Conference on 14 June 2012. In July 2012, the UK Permanent Representative to the UN discussed the issue with his Iranian counterpart.

Syria

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consular arrangements he has put in place to enable residents in (a) Syria and (b) Iran to access UK officials.

Alistair Burt: The UK embassies in Iran and Syria have suspended all services and we continue to advise against all travel to both countries.
	When we withdrew our staff from these embassies we identified Protecting Powers to represent our interests and provide consular assistance to any British nationals requiring it. In Iran, any British nationals seeking consular assistance can approach the British interests office at the Swedish embassy in Tehran. In Syria, our Protecting Power was Hungary but they have since withdrawn due to the deteriorating security situation. In their absence, any British national in Syria may approach any EU mission in Damascus for assistance.
	British nationals should continue to check travel advice on the FCO website for any updates.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Art Works

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what works of art are on display in (a) her and (b) her ministerial colleagues' offices; and what recent valuation has been made of such artworks.

Edward Vaizey: A table of the information you have requested has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	It is not possible to give an accurate estimate of the value of the Government Art Collection, which has no current market valuation. The current monetary value of a work of art can be accurately assessed only at the time of purchase or sale or by professional valuation.
	The Government Art Collection (GAC) helps promote British art and history while contributing to cultural diplomacy by displaying its works in Government buildings including Downing street, the Home Office and British embassies and residences in nearly every capital city across the globe. The works are seen by the many thousands of visitors to these locations. Approximately two thirds of its 13,500 works are on display at any one time.
	An example of public demonstration of the GAC is the exhibition 'Revealed: The Government Art Collection' at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, which brings together nearly 200 of the GAC's works spanning the breadth of the Collection from 16(th) century to the present. It runs until 24 February 2013 and then tours to Ulster Museum, Belfast from 15 March to 9 June 2013.
	The GAC frequently loans works to public exhibitions. In addition the Collection works with local schools on literacy projects and has worked with the London Metropolitan University on its 'Curating the Contemporary' MA course. The Collection runs approximately three group tours per month and each year takes part in Museums at Night and London Open House weekend. The GAC website provides extensive access to the Collection containing, as it does, details of approximately 10,700 works of which nearly 10,000 have images. The Collection also generates an income through licensing its copyrighted images for commercial reproduction.

Broadband

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households receive 2Mbps broadband (a) in rural areas and (b) in urban areas.

Edward Vaizey: The Ofcom Infrastructure Report update, published on 16 November 2012, estimates that 2 Mbps broadband was available to 89.9% of UK premises at that time, but a split between rural and urban households was not available. The £530 million Government investment programme, combined with a similar level of local authority investment, aims to increase availability of superfast broadband to 90% of UK premises and universal access to a minimum service of 2 Mbps.

Data Protection

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on how many occasions each Minister in her Department carried classified documents on public transport in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Hugh Robertson: This information is not held. Ministers handle official information in accordance with Government guidance.

Gyms

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what consideration she has given to preventing local authorities from competing with private providers for provision of gyms and similar services.

Hugh Robertson: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), has not given specific consideration to this matter. Local sport and recreation facilities are delivered by local authorities. It is for each local authority to determine provision of sports services for members of its community.

Mobile Phones: Transport

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government is taking to improve the mobile infrastructure to cover existing mobile coverage gaps on main transport routes.

Edward Vaizey: My Department and the Department for Transport are working with the mobile and rail industries to seek to remove barriers to providing improved mobile coverage on the rail network. We are also working with the mobile industry to invest £150 million in infrastructure to improve mobile coverage in areas with poor coverage, as well as along 10 key roads.

SCOTLAND

Aviation

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many air miles were accumulated by each Minister in his Department in 2012; how such air miles were used; and whether such air miles were donated to charity.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not record the number of air miles accumulated by Ministers while on Scotland Office business.

Business

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland with reference to Coalition: Our programme for government, published in May 2010, what steps his Department is taking to meet the Government's commitment that 25 per cent of Government business goes to small and medium-sized enterprises.

David Mundell: Other than minor or bespoke purchases, the Scotland Office does not undertake direct procurement or tendering projects. It utilises existing service contracts between suppliers and the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice. Since May 2010, only one contract has been issued directly by the Scotland Office, and this was issued to the Royal Mail for the purposes of the Scottish parliamentary elections.

Data Protection

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions each Minister in his Department carried classified documents on public transport in the last 12 months for which information is available.

David Mundell: This information is not held. Scotland Office Ministers handle official information in accordance with Government guidance

Food Banks

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has visited a food bank in Scotland since May 2010; and whether he has any plans to visit a food bank in Scotland.

David Mundell: Scotland Office Ministers regularly meet with a range of individuals and organisations.

Industry

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the Government's industrial strategy; and what assessment he has made of the effect on Scotland of the planned publication of specific sector strategies.

David Mundell: This Government is committed to supporting all UK industry, including in Scotland. The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), is in regular and frequent contact with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), on matters relating to business including the industrial strategy.
	Recently the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson), attended the Scottish Business Board. She outlined the industrial strategy and led a discussion with members on the specific sector strategies.

Official Hospitality

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department has spent for hospitality purposes on events hosted by each Minister in his Department in each of the last 12 months.

David Mundell: Scotland Office expenditure for hospitality purposes on events hosted by each Minister in each of the last 12 months is as shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State 
			 January 2012 525 3,230 
			 February 2012 0 78 
			 March 2012 3,904 470 
			 April 2012 0 0 
			 May 2012 4,103 159 
			 June 2012 6,639 21 
			 July 2012 3,651 0 
			 August 2012 2,434 0 
			 September 2012 0 0 
			 October 2012 262 0 
			 November 2012 4,136 0 
			 December 2012 1,471 0 
		
	
	All expenditure incurred is in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Public Expenditure

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Efficiency and Reform Group on savings within his Department; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce costs.

David Mundell: Scotland Office officials are in routine contact with the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury officials to ensure that all appropriate steps are taken to make saving and reduce costs.

Scottish Business Board

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will place in the Library copies of the papers supplied by his Department to members of the Scottish Business Board for their meeting of 26 November 2012.

Michael Moore: I have arranged for a copy of the relevant papers to be placed in the Library.
	An annex to one of the papers has been withheld for reasons of company commercial confidentiality.

Sovereignty

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of the role of the UK and Scottish governments in preparations for the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore), announced in June of last year, the Government are undertaking a programme of work to inform and support the debate on Scotland's future within the UK. As part of this work my department is working with departments across Whitehall and forthcoming analysis from this work will demonstrate the role that the UK plays in Scotland and Scotland's contribution to the UK.

Surveys

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when his Department last conducted a staff survey; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the results of the last survey.

Michael Moore: The Civil Service People Survey co-ordinated by the Cabinet Office took place in October 2012. Departments are due to publish their results by 31 January 2013. A copy will be placed in the Library by the end of the month.

Travel

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost to the public purse was of transport for (a) Ministers, (b) staff and (c) special advisers in each of the last 12 months.

David Mundell: The cost to the public purse of transport for (a) Ministers, (b) staff and (c) special advisers for the financial year 2011-12 was as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 (a) Ministers 63,422 
			 (b) Staff 132,908 
			 (c) Special advisers 26,360

Visits Abroad

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many overseas visits were made by (a) Ministers, (b) staff and (c) special advisers of his Department in the last 12 months; and what the cost to the public purse was of each such visit.

David Mundell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 506W, to the hon. Member for Glasgow East (Margaret Curran).

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the long-term effect of lead in the environment on levels of violence and anti-social behaviour.

Jeremy Browne: The Home Office has not conducted an assessment of the impact of environmental lead levels on criminal behaviour. However, as with a wide range of other factors that may influence crime, we do keep the emerging evidence on this topic under review.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people under 18 years old who were given an anti-social behaviour order were (a) White British, (b) Black Caribbean, (c) Black African, (d) Pakistani origin, (e) Indian origin, (f) Bangladeshi origin and (g) other in each year from 1 April 1997 to 1 April 2012.

Jeremy Browne: This data is not collected centrally.

Arrests: Young People

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many of those people under the age of 18 who were arrested between November 2011 and November 2012 and whose family were engaged by the state were (a) White British, (b) Black Caribbean, (c) Black African, (d) Pakistani origin, (e) Indian origin, (f) Bangladeshi origin and (g) other;
	(2)  how many people under the age of 18 who were arrested between November 2011 and November 2012 were (a) White British, (b) Black Caribbean, (c) Black African, (d) Pakistani origin, (e) Indian origin, (f) Bangladeshi origin and (g) other;
	(3)  how many of those people under the age of 18 who were arrested between November 2011 and November 2012 and who were referred to a social worker were (a) White British, (b) Black Caribbean, (c) Black African, (d) Pakistani origin, (e) Indian origin, (f) Bangladeshi origin and (g) other;
	(4)  how many of those people under the age of 18 who were arrested between November 2011 and November 2012 and were charged were (a) White British, (b) Black Caribbean, (c) Black African, (d) Pakistani origin, (e) Indian origin, (f) Bangladeshi origin and (g) other.

Damian Green: Arrests data for England and Wales are collected by the Home Office and published on an annual basis in the National Statistics series 'Police Powers and Procedures'. Data currently available relate to the financial year 2010-11 and are included in the latest internet-only release, which is available via:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/police-research/police-powers-procedures-201011/
	Data for 2011-12 are scheduled to be published in the spring of 2013.
	An additional table, relating specifically to the number of arrested persons aged under 18 years by self-defined ethnicity, is provided in the following table (the main publication did not break down figures for self-ethnicity by age). The Home Office's arrests data collection does not include information on whether arrested persons are engaged (employed) by the state, been referred to social workers or been charged.
	
		
			 Number of persons arrested aged under 18, by self-defined ethnicity: England and Wales, 2010-11 
			 Ethnicity group Ethnicity category Number of persons arrested 
			 White White British 157,191 
			  White Irish 1,341 
			  Other White 6,360 
			 White total — 164,892 
			    
			 Black or Black British Black African 8,425 
			  Black Caribbean 8,801 
			  Other Black 4,256 
			 Black or Black British total — 21,482 
			    
			 Asian or Asian British Bangladeshi 2,234 
			  Indian 1,302 
			  Pakistani 3,381 
			  Other Asian 2,460 
			 Asian or Asian British total — 9,377 
			    
			 Mixed Mixed African 1,290 
			  Mixed Asian 859 
			  Mixed Caribbean 6,026 
			  Other Mixed 2,271 
			 Mixed total — 10,446 
			    
			 Chinese or Other Chinese 192 
			  Other 1,772 
			 Chinese or Other total — 1,964 
			    
			 Not stated Not Stated 2,522 
			    
			 Total — 210,683

Bramshill Police College

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what level of capital receipt she expects from the sale of Bramshill Police College; and by what date she expects the sale to be completed.

Damian Green: The expected value of the Bramshill site is commercially sensitive at this stage. We estimate that the site will be sold by 2014.

Bramshill Police College

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the current market value of Bramshill police training college.

Damian Green: The site has significant value, however considerations about this are commercially sensitive at this stage. The Home Office will appoint selling agents who will advise on any guide price to potential buyers.

Crime

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice she received from the Office for National Statistics on the release of partial statistics on 30 December 2012 in relation to crime levels in police authority areas in England and Wales.

Jeremy Browne: The Home Office did not release any partial statistics on 30 December in relation to crime levels in police force areas in England and Wales. Crime levels in police force areas relating to the periods ending June 2010 and June 2012, which formed the basis of percentage changes contained in The Sunday Times article on 30 December, had previously been published on the Office for National Statistics and Home Office websites.

Designated Public Places Orders

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many designated public places orders have been issued in each local authority area since their introduction.

Jeremy Browne: The Home Office does not publish official statistics on the number of Designated Public Place Orders in force. However, data held centrally by the Home Office shows that local authorities have so far notified the Home Office of 838 Designated Public Place Orders issued since their introduction in 2001. A table containing the break down of these notifications, by local authority, will be placed in the Library and provided to the hon. Member.

Offences Against Children: Wales

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the anticipated cost of Operation Pallial; and what contribution she expects to be made to funding that operation by (a) the National Crime Agency, (b) the Serious Organised Crime Agency, (c) North Wales Police and (d) other police forces.

Damian Green: North Wales Police has made an initial assessment of the expected costs of the first phase of Operation Pallial. The Home Office will be providing funding of approximately £683,000 to cover the costs of police forces in the North West Region and North Wales. The support from the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the Child Online Exploitation and Protection Centre will be funded from within those organisations' existing budgets.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Asbestos

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects the Health and Safety Executive to resume its Hidden Killer campaign.

Mark Hoban: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) remain committed to ensuring that both employers and employees are aware of the risks of exposure to asbestos and the measures that should be taken to prevent this. HSE is currently carrying out work to consider how best to build upon the success of the Hidden Killer campaign. That work will help inform the development of plans for potential campaign activity later this year.
	HSE's website carries lots of practical information about the risks posed by asbestos in the workplace and HSE works with industry and others to raise and maintain awareness of the issues, and to change behaviour.

Employment and Support Allowance

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the amount of employment and support allowance granted to individuals (a) on mental health grounds and (b) for behaviour reasons was in each of the last four years;
	(2)  what the number of claims for employment and support allowance on grounds of disability was for each category of disability in each of the last four years; and what the amount of expenditure was for each such category in each such year.

Mark Hoban: The Department published ad hoc data on employment and support allowance (ESA) expenditure by reported medical condition and phase of claim and can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure
	Data is not available prior to 2010-11. It should be noted that expenditure does not separate mental health and behavioural reasons—these are grouped together in the tables.
	Statistics on the number of claimants receiving ESA in each of the last four years by each diagnosis group can be found at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Employment and Support Allowance

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many face-to-face medical examinations of claimants who have been in receipt of employment and support allowance for (a) 0 to six months, (b) six to 12 months, (c) 12 to 24 months, (d) 24 to 36 months, (e) 36 to 48 months, (f) 48 to 56 months and (g) over 56 months have been conducted in each of the last four years; and how many such examinations resulted in the termination of a claim.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available.

Employment: Young People

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 648W, on employment schemes: young people, when his Department plans to publish the first statistical release of the number of (a) starts, (b) completions and (c) job outcomes from the Day 1 Support for Young People Trailblazer.

Mark Hoban: The decision has not yet been taken on when to publish statistics. The Department works to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.

Employment: Young People

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals have received youth contract wage subsidies since the launch of the scheme.

Mark Hoban: Following the collection and quality assurance of this data, I expect the first set of Official Statistics on the wage incentive to be available in the early part of 2013. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.

Food Banks

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many food banks were in operation in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many people have used food banks in each (a) nation of the UK and (b) region of England in each of the last 10 years.

Mark Hoban: DWP do not collate or hold numbers of how many food banks are in operation or how many people use them.

Housing Benefit

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number of tenants living in the social rented sector and in receipt of housing benefit who will be affected by the new rules on under-occupation.

Steve Webb: Estimated numbers of housing benefit claimants affected by the new rules on under-occupation in the social rented sector can be found in the Impact Assessment:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/social-sector-housing-under-occupation-wr2011-ia.pdf

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the rates of local housing allowance in areas exempted from the 1 per cent cap on uprating will be uprated (a) in line with the consumer prices index, (b) in line with the 30th percentile of rents in the area and (c) in another way; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The Government have set aside £140 million over two years to help people most affected by the 1% cap on local housing allowance uprating in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
	Our intention is that this funding will be used to increase the local housing allowance rates in areas where rent increases are causing a shortage of affordable accommodation.
	We are currently considering the detailed policy design and will make further information available in due course.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in determining which areas should be exempted from his policy of capping increases in local housing allowance rates at 1 per cent, whether whole local authorities or parts of local authorities will be exempted; over what period the rent increases will be measured; who will undertake the assessments; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The Government have set aside £140 million over two years to help people most affected by the 1% cap on local housing allowance uprating in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
	Our intention is that this funding will be used to increase the local housing allowance rates in areas where rent increases are causing a shortage of affordable accommodation.
	Local housing allowance rates are set in each of the 192 broad rental market areas across Great Britain.
	This funding will be available from 2014-15 and we will of course consider the available evidence, including evidence collected by the rent officer to decide how it is targeted.
	We are currently considering the detailed policy design and will make further information available in due course.

Housing Benefit: Tower Hamlets

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number of households in (a) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency and (b) Tower Hamlets in receipt of housing benefits which exceed £500 per week in total.

Steve Webb: There are 10 households in Tower Hamlets local authority receiving housing benefit in excess of £500 per week at August 2012.
	The same information by parliamentary constituency is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Such information by parliamentary constituency that is available is on a new visualisation tool Stat-Xplore published at
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool

Independent Living Fund

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what monitoring of eligibility for access to the Independent Living Fund by each local administration is undertaken by his Department.

Esther McVey: Regular reassessment of the needs of ILF users is essential to ensure that ILF recipients continue to receive the support they require. Reassessment can be used to establish whether new needs have emerged, whether any former needs have receded or whether newly available support opportunities could better meet user's needs than their current support plan.
	The Independent Living Fund (ILF) regularly monitors award recipients to ensure that they are receiving the appropriate support and that they continue to remain within the eligibility criteria as laid out in the Independent Living Fund's Trust Deed and Conditions of Grant Agreement available at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/ilf/publications/policies-and-governance/index.shtml
	For the majority of ILF users one component of eligibility of an ILF award is receipt of the highest rate care component of DLA, highest rate of attendance allowance or at least financially equivalent rate of constant attendance allowance. These are similarly regularly assessed to ensure that recipients continue to be eligible for support and are receiving support at the appropriate level.

Independent Living Fund: Greater London

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by the Independent Living Fund in each London borough in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 to date; and what safeguards he plans to put in place to protect such spending following transfer of the Fund to local authority control.

Esther McVey: The information is in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Social services 2012-13 to December 2012 2011-12 2010-11 
			 Barking and Dagenham 460,258 649,086 719,008 
			 Barnet 1,325,498 1,856,923 1,974,371 
			 Bexley 740,173 1,009,553 1,042,627 
			 Brent 867,575 1,151,785 1,207,371 
			 Bromley 742,225 1,071,142 1,112,576 
			 Camden 736,069 1,039,046 1,115,860 
			 Corporation of London 5,101 6,204 6,303 
			 Croydon 955,999 1,370,905 1,466,892 
			 Ealing 547,147 757,433 829,457 
			 Enfield 706,180 978,173 1,065,071 
			 Greenwich 1,065,002 1,457,237 1,512,491 
			 Hackney 805,426 1,113,879 1,185,052 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 825,342 1,159,170 1,265,052 
			 Haringey 744,894 1,055,005 1,150,402 
			 Harrow 391,482 553,040 603,947 
			 Havering 571,132 807,604 881,407 
			 Hillingdon 474,510 673,757 753,683 
			 Hounslow 493,582 712,773 774,465 
			 Islington 1,266,981 1,718,414 1,814,618 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 404,059 547,603 581,543 
			 Kingston Upon Thames 148,534 217,374 238,367 
			 Lambeth 664,963 942,807 976,409 
			 Lewisham 580,251 857,439 928,589 
			 Merton 264,385 408,497 430,262 
			 Newham 612,192 900,002 967,708 
			 Redbridge 737,632 997,960 1,060,609 
			 Richmond Upon Thames 351,749 511,742 586,682 
		
	
	
		
			 Southwark 274,602 435,596 484,117 
			 Sutton 183,592 242,912 253,572 
			 Tower Hamlets 382,351 557,331 579,755 
			 Waltham Forest 1,140,125 1,589,661 1,650,086 
			 Wandsworth 232,810 391,815 426,057 
			 Westminster 327,051 420,334 475,858 
			     
			 Total 20,028,872 28,462,203 30,120,266 
		
	
	Local authorities and users told us that it was crucial that funding was allocated to the devolved administrations in a way that reflected the current expenditure patterns.
	We believe that there is a strong case for this approach as it will help ensure a smooth integration of users into the mainstream care and support system and prevent any local authority or country being disproportionately affected by the closure of this fund. The Government will bring forward proposals on this basis for the devolution of funding to local authorities in England and the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales, in due course.
	As stated in the Government's response to the consultation on the future of the Independent Living Fund this spending will not be ringfenced as local authorities need to be allowed to meet their statutory responsibilities in a flexible way; the ringfencing of funding prevents this and creates an unnecessary administrative burden.
	ILF users have a diverse range of needs and the funding balance between ILF funding and LA funding varies significantly. The Government believes that individual local authorities are best placed to ensure these needs are met in a consistent way alongside the needs of the other disabled people.
	I am pleased to reassure ILF users that the Government remains fully committed to maintaining current ILF user's care packages up to April 2015. During this period we will continue to work closely with local authorities and the Devolved Administrations during the development and implementation of new local support arrangements to ensure that they are adequately funded. This will mean that the needs of current ILF users will continue to be met according to local authority assessments of eligibility in an equitable and consistent way and that anyone who is assessed as needing care will continue to receive it.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Greater London

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number of jobseeker's allowance claimants who have been receiving benefit for 12 months or more in (a) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, (b) Tower Hamlets and (c) London.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on the number of jobseeker's allowance claimants who have been receiving benefit for 12 months or more in (a) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, (b) Tower Hamlets and (c) London can be found at:
	https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

Members: Correspondence

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Minister for Disabled People plans to reply to the letters of (a) 30 June, (b) 25 September, (c) 9 November and (d) 7 December 2012 from the hon. Member for North Cornwall regarding Mr David Fuller.

Esther McVey: I replied to the hon. Member on 14 January 2013.

Social Security Benefits: Uprating

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department considered the potential effects of the loss of education maintenance allowance on families who will be affected by the provisions of the Welfare Benefits Uprating Bill.

Steve Webb: The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill means that the majority of working age benefits, statutory payments, and tax credits will be up-rated by 1% in 2014-15 and 2015-16. The Government have protected pensioners who are on fixed incomes, and the additional needs benefits of disabled people whose added costs are linked to price inflation. An assessment of impacts has been published and is available in the House of Commons Library.
	Around 45% of young people in further education received EMA payments. However, research commissioned by the previous Government shows that only around 10% of those who received it relied on EMA to participate. EMA was poorly targeted and cost around £560 million a year so it was not possible to justify continuing with it.
	EMA was replaced by the £180 million Bursary Fund from September 2011. This targets support more effectively towards the most financially disadvantaged 16-19 year olds who most need help with the costs of staying on in education.
	In this difficult economic climate, it has been necessary to take some, hard decisions, but in doing so, we have sought to ensure that support continues to go to those who need it most.

Work Programme

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many successful job outcomes from the Work programme there have been in each parliamentary constituency in the last 12 months; what proportion of the total number of successful outcomes are in each parliamentary constituency; and what proportion of total referrals to the programme have resulted in job outcomes.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on how many successful job outcomes from the Work programme there have been in each parliamentary constituency in the last 12 months; what proportion of the total number of successful outcomes are in each parliamentary constituency; and what proportion of total referrals to the programme have resulted in job outcomes can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Work Programme

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of long-term unemployed persons in each (a) region, (b) constituency and (c) local authority area have been placed in employment through the Work programme since its inception.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available.

Work Programme

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2013, Official Report, column 199W, on long-term unemployed people: mental health, how many and what percentage of the 837,000 participants were given help by the mental health and wellbeing partnership manager in the areas covered by the private sector providers that run the Work programme.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Work Programme

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of people who have found work through the Work programme had been unemployed for (a) over three years, (b) between two and three years and (c) between one and two years and (i) had drug, alcohol or mental health issues or (ii) were functionally illiterate in each of the areas covered by the private sector companies that run the Work Programme.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available.

Work Programme: Clwyd

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of referrals to the Work programme in Vale of Clwyd constituency have resulted in a successful job outcome in each month since June 2011.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on what proportion of referrals to the Work programme in Vale of Clwyd constituency have resulted in a successful job outcome in each month since June 2011 can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Work Programme: Clwyd

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) job referrals and (b) job outcomes there have been in Vale of Clwyd constituency in each month since the start of the Work programme.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) Statistics on how many job referrals there have been in Vale of Clwyd constituency in each month since the start of the Work programme are not available.
	(b) Statistics on how many job outcomes there have been in Vale of Clwyd constituency in each month since the start of the Work programme can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Work Programme: Wirral

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Wirral have (a) enrolled on and (b) completed the Work programme.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) Statistics on how many people in Wirral have enrolled on the Work programme can be found at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf
	(b) Statistics on how many people in Wirral have completed the Work programme are not readily available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Working Age Benefits: Halifax

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Halifax constituency are currently in receipt of working-age benefits.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on the number of people receiving working age benefits in the Halifax parliamentary constituency can be found at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?oaae=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Written Questions: Government Responses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will respond to parliamentary question 132699 from the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd tabled on 5 December 2012 for answer on 10 December 2012.

Mark Hoban: I replied to the hon. Member's question on 8 January 2013, Official Report, column 200W.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bangladesh

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to support the work of non-government organisations working to promote the rights of ready-made garment industry workers in Bangladesh.

Alan Duncan: Through its Rights and Governance Challenge Fund, DFID supports three Bangladeshi non-governmental organisations working on workers' rights in the ready-made garments industry. Between 2008 and 2013, UK support will enable 180,000 workers in the garments industry to be paid on time and have improved working conditions, through a greater awareness of their rights and better organisation.
	DFID also supports the global Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector (RAGS) Challenge Fund, which funds five projects in Bangladesh to improve the condition of vulnerable workers in the ready-made garment sector. Two of these projects have facilitated management-worker participation committees and built awareness of the rights of RMG workers to organise.
	DFID also funds the Ethical Trading Initiative, an alliance of companies, trade unions and voluntary organisations working to improve the working lives of poor and vulnerable people who make or produce consumer goods.

Commonwealth

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what proportion of her Department's bilateral expenditure was allocated to Commonwealth countries in (a) 2000, (b) 2005, (c) 2010, (d) 2011 and (e) 2012; and how much and what proportion of her Department's bilateral expenditure is planned to be spent in Commonwealth countries in (i) 2013, (ii) 2015 and (iii) 2020.

Alan Duncan: Since 2011, we have refocused the aid programme in fewer countries so that we can target our support where it will make the biggest difference and where the need is greatest.
	DFID does not have data by calendar year. Using data for the financial years beginning in each year requested, the historical figures for cash funding received and percentage of bilateral expenditure are:
	
		
			  £ million Percentage 
			 2000-01 798.74 57 
			 2005-06 1,237.79 47 
			 2010-11 1,590.78 37 
			 2011-12 1,620.44 39 
		
	
	Planned expenditure for 2012-13 and 2013-14, on a resource basis, including only country programme budgets, indicates the following figures:
	
		
			  £ million Percentage 
			 2012-13 1,836.34 53 
			 2013-14 2,219.50 52 
		
	
	These figures are not directly comparable with historical expenditure, and those for 2013-14 are indicative, as we are currently reviewing Operational Plans for 2013-14 and 2014-15. 2015 and 2020 are beyond the current spending review period, so projections are not available.
	For many countries in the Commonwealth there is no separate bilateral programme, but these countries may benefit from some of our regional programmes. In particular, the figures exclude expenditure in the Caribbean. They also exclude the Overseas Territories as they are not independent members of the Commonwealth.
	The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation Development—Development Assistance Committee publishes statistics by calendar year:
	http://www.oecd.org/dac/aidstatistics/Final2011ODA.htm

Consultants

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2012, Official Report, column 819W, on consultants, what assessment she has made of the extent to which her Department's capacity to achieve value for money from suppliers increased between 2010 and the commissioning of her Department's report on the use of private consultants.

Justine Greening: The coalition Government introduced a focus on results and value for money. In November I met with DFID's largest suppliers to start a process of working with them individually and collectively to get better value for money. That work is ongoing. Under the previous Government, no strategic value for money review of suppliers had taken place.
	I will continue to prioritise value for money to ensure we maximise the impact of taxpayers' money on poverty.

Data Protection

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on how many occasions each Minister in her Department carried classified documents on public transport in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Alan Duncan: This information is not held. Ministers handle official information in accordance with Government guidance.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Rural Areas: Schools

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if he has made an assessment of the number of small schools in rural areas which may close as a result of funding changes by the Department for Education planned for April 2013;
	(2)  what representations he has received on the effect on rural schools of funding changes by the Department for Education due in April for small schools.

David Laws: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Education.
	The Department has received a number of representations about the effect of funding changes on small schools and I have also met with Members, local authority representatives and school leaders to discuss the implications for individual schools and local areas.
	We remain firmly committed to supporting good local schools including in rural areas, and I would not expect any of these schools to close as a result of funding changes from April 2013. Schools are protected from significant changes to their budgets by a minimum funding guarantee, which ensures that no school can lose more than 1.5% of its per-pupil funding from one year to the next, for the remainder of this spending period. Furthermore, we have committed to putting in place a new minimum funding guarantee—at a level to be determined—from 2015-16 onwards.
	Analysis conducted by the Department estimates the average fixed costs of a small primary school to be approximately £95,000. So that local authorities would have the flexibility to support smaller schools of all types, the Department confirmed, in June 2012, that local authorities could allocate a lump sum of up to £200,000 to all the schools in their area for 2013-14. This lump sum ensures the sustainability of small schools that are operating efficiently. As part of a wider review of 2013-14 school funding arrangements, we will review both the amount and use of the lump sum before announcing funding arrangements for 2014-15.
	As well as supporting small rural schools through our funding arrangements, we are continuing with our policy of a presumption against the closure of rural schools as set out in section 15 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
	It is not yet possible to establish exact funding levels for small schools from April 2013 as local authorities are still in the process of finalising their budgets for the next financial year.
	None of the funding reforms being implemented by the Department for Education in April 2013 will affect schools in Wales.

CABINET OFFICE

Crown Immunity

Andrew George: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 17 September 2012, Official Report, column 521W, on Crown Immunity, 
	(1)  if he will publish a bibliography setting out where all of the subject specific guidance on the application of Crown Immunity can be found in the public domain;
	(2)  if he will collate all the available guidance on the application of Crown Immunity in respect of (a) Parliament and (b) Government legislation and make it public in a single document.

Chloe Smith: There is no generic guidance produced by the Government covering when and where the principle of Crown Immunity should apply. However the subject of Crown Immunity is touched upon in a variety of largely subject specific guidance available in the public domain including:
	The application of Crown Immunity to the export of controlled military or dual-use items owned by the Crown. This is published on the gov.uk website
	https://www.gov.uk/crown-immunity-of-controlled-military-and-dual-use-items
	The application of Crown Immunity as regards the enforcement of Health and Safety at Work legislation against Crown bodies (known as ‘Crown censure’). This is produced by the Health and Safety Executive and is published on their website:
	http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/removal-of-crown-immunity-and-historic-estate/removalofcrownimmunityandhistoricestate20091007123106.pdf
	Guidance for Crown bodies on the removal of Crown Immunity and their historic estate following the application of the planning acts to the Crown as a result of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. This guidance is produced by English Heritage and is published on their website:
	http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/removal-of-crown-immunity-and-historic-estate/removalofcrownimmunityandhistoricestate20091007123106.pdf
	The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel has also recently published guidance on Crown application:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Crown_Application_Pamphlet_281112.pdf
	The Government believes this guidance is most suitably categorised by subject rather than legal application.

Electoral Register

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to ensure the transition to individual voter registration does not lead to people being unaware that they may be removed from the electoral register.

Chloe Smith: During the transition to individual electoral registration, existing electors will receive numerous communications from registration officers, and there will be national and local publicity campaigns. The implementation plan published on the Cabinet Office website:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Implementation-Plan_0.pdf
	in July 2012 sets out the messaging that electors will receive.
	Based on pilots carried out in 2011 and 2012, we expect that around 70% of existing electors will be confirmed on the register through data-matching in 2014. Electoral registration officers will write to any non-confirmed electors encouraging them to apply and explaining that will have to make a successful new application before December 2015, otherwise their name will be taken off the register. This message will be repeated following the general election in 2015.
	There will also be a public information campaign that will aim to provide the public with information, guidance and support about the new system, and what is required of them, at the right time. This will be led by the Electoral Commission, in close consultation with the Cabinet Office and other delivery partners.

Employment: East of England

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of people in (a) Witham constituency, (b) Essex and (c) the East of England were employed by small and medium-sized enterprises in each year since 1997; and what the equivalent figures were nationally in each such year.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated January 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many and what proportion of people in (a) Witham constituency, (b) Essex and (c) the East of England were employed by small and medium-sized enterprises in each year since 1997-and what the equivalent figures were nationally in each year.
	The analysis estimates the number and proportion of people in Essex, the East of England and the UK employed by small and medium sized enterprises. The employment data are taken from estimates held on the Inter Departmental Business Register which are derived from a range of different administrative sources and surveys.
	The equivalent data for the Witham constituency cannot be released due to the small number of large businesses in the constituency. It would be possible to calculate by deduction the number of people employed by these large businesses and hence this information is disclosive. Due to the size of the table, it will be stored in the House of Commons Library.
	Data are available back to 2003. Data are not available before this date due to software changes that mean that the data cannot be produced on our current operational systems.
	
		
			 Tables show the sum of employment(1) and the proportion of people employed by small and medium sized businesses in Essex, the East of England and the UK, 2003-12 
			  Essex 
			  2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Small sized businesses(2)           
			 Employment count 183,714 181,914 187,091 190,312 193,250 198,341 202,137 199,291 196,786 204,473 
			 Percentage 41 40 40 40 40 40 41 40 39 40 
			            
			 Medium sized businesses(3)           
			 Employment count 57,926 57,570 53,520 56,262 57,636 60,992 62,123 61,072 62,847 67,219 
			 Percentage 13 13 11 12 12 12 13 12 13 13 
		
	
	
		
			  East of England 
			  2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Small sized businesses(2)           
			 Employment count 781,404 774,177 788,656 798,403 809,923 827,815 836,542 824,592 809,953 834,662 
			 Percentage 32 32 30 30 30 30 30 29 29 30 
			            
			 Medium sized businesses(3)           
			 Employment count 297,347 290,524 283,491 292,345 294,567 307,897 309,353 308,165 308,039 323,808 
			 Percentage 12 12 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 
		
	
	
		
			  UK 
			  2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Small sized businesses(2)           
			 Employment count 7,988,562 7,913,254 8,072,831 8,150,515 8,300,486 8,463,118 8,571,485 8,404,116 8,232,570 8,521,428 
			 Percentage 31 30 30 30 30 30 31 30 30 31 
			            
			 Medium sized businesses(3)           
			 Employment count 3,210,117 3,170,429 3,153,938 3,232,978 3,260,766 3,306,460 3,352,443 3,315,351 3,323,026 3,480,708 
			 Percentage 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 13 
			 (1) The employment data are taken from estimates held on the Inter Departmental Business Register which are derived from a range of different administrative sources and surveys. (2) Small sized businesses have been defined as those with an employment between 0 and 49. (3) Medium sized businesses have been defined as those with an employment between 50 and 249. Source: Office for National Statistics

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average period is between a serviceman completing a tour of Afghanistan and commencing pre-deployment training ahead of another tour.

Mark Francois: holding answer 20 December 2012
	The average period between tour completion and the start of the next pre-deployment training is 18 months. This is based on a policy of having 24 months between six-month tours, for which pre-deployment training starts six months previously. This remains unchanged from the policy in place prior to May 2010.

Armed Forces: Weapons

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent guidance has been issued to armed forces personnel in relation to the transportation of serviceable weapons from theatres of operation back to the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: The policy for transporting serviceable weapons from Theatres of Operations back to the UK is contained in Joint Services Publication 440 (The MOD Security Handbook). This defines the standards of physical security to be applied to the storage and movement of arms, ammunition and explosives held by, or under the control of, the UK MOD.
	An internal Defence Instruction and Notice sets out the policy governing the retention of captured enemy equipment as operational memorabilia by the Ministry of Defence, and situations where an individual believes they have a valid reason to import a firearm or weapon from an operational theatre, including those obtained by gifting from another nation's forces or, in the case of antique weapons, purchased in theatre.
	Both of these documents are circulated widely and are available to armed forces personnel

Cyprus

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on his Department's plans to reinstate two P 2000 class coastal training craft, Dasher and Pursuer, at the Sovereign base areas on Cyprus.

Andrew Robathan: We have no such plans.

Katrice Lee

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of the Secretary of State for Defence of 20 December 2012, Official Report, columns 904-5W, on Katrice Lee, if he will publish the briefing to him and his officials from the Royal Military Police to allow him to reply to letters from (a) hon. Members and (b) the Lee family in respect of the disappearance of Katrice Lee; if he will re-examine the case in the light of the Royal Military Police's acknowledgements that the previous investigations were flawed; if he will discuss with the German Chancellor securing assistance from the appropriate authorities in Germany regarding that case; and if he will meet with the Lee family to discuss future steps to be taken by the Government in relation to the case.

Mark Francois: The Royal Military Police are currently re-investigating the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Katrice Lee. It is this work that has highlighted shortcomings in the initial investigation. On 13 December 2012, I met with members of the Lee family, along with the Provost Marshal (Army), his investigation team, and my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Caroline Dinenage) to discuss this and other issues linked to the current live police investigation. I am content that it is the most appropriate way of progressing this matter and, hopefully, revealing what happened to Katrice. The Royal Military Police have been in regular contact with the German authorities and received their full co-operation.
	While it is not our practice to publish briefing information on individual personal cases, I can confirm that the Lee family are being kept up to date with all significant developments in the investigation.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to answer the letter sent to him by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 13 September 2012 with regard to Mr Luke Storey.

Mark Francois: 1 responded to the right hon. Member on 14 January.

Publications

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how often his Department produces a staff magazine.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence staff magazine aimed at the entire military and civilian audience is “Defence Focus”. The magazine is produced 11 times a year in both online and printed formats with 20,000 print copies of each issue distributed to Defence sites throughout the world.

World War II: Military Decorations

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral answer by the Prime Minister of 19 December 2012, Official Report, column 841, on Arctic convoys, if he will provide an update on the criteria and eligibility of Arctic convoy veterans for the Arctic Convoy medal.

Mark Francois: The details, including the eligibility criteria, application process, design and manufacture of the new medal are being worked on by the Ministry of Defence. We are mindful of the age of the remaining veterans and are progressing these matters as quickly as possible.

EDUCATION

Children: Disability

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with colleagues on ensuring that the Children and Families Bill offers support to carers of disabled children along the lines of the support offered for adults in the draft Care and Support Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: Department for Education officials are in regular discussion with colleagues at the Department of Health about the Care and Support Bill, to ensure coherence.
	The draft Care and Support Bill proposals include significant improvements to simplify carers' assessments and, for the first time, to place a duty on local authorities to meet carers' eligible needs for support, putting them on the same footing as the people they care for. There is no parallel duty in the draft Children and Families Bill as, where appropriate, support for parents and carers is already an integral part of the social care assessment for disabled children under section 17 of the Children Act. Section 17 assessments will consider and agree services and support for parents and carers where these will help to deliver better outcomes for the child. Provision of short breaks services to disabled children is a statutory duty for local authorities, providing support for parents and carers of disabled children, as well as opportunities for learning and leisure for children and young people themselves.
	The Children and Families Bill will support parents and carers of disabled children further by introducing a local offer which will set out clearly what children, young people and families can expect from mainstream services across education, health and social care; how to access more specialist support; how decisions are made and how to complain or appeal.
	The Children and Families Bill introduces a more streamlined single assessment process, leading to an integrated Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for children and young people with more complex needs. Parents and carers of disabled children with special educational needs will be involved throughout in drawing up the plan, which will bring together all their child's support needs and aspirations in a single place.
	Twenty pathfinders are testing how best to develop EHCPs, putting parents and carers at the centre of the process. Pathfinder learning is informing the Children and Families Bill, the development of regulations, a new SEN code of practice and in future, will inform local implementation of the reforms.

Commercialisation and Sexualisation of Children Review

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education who within Government has primary responsibility for policy on the sexualisation and commercialisation of children.

Edward Timpson: Tackling the excessive commercialisation and premature sexualisation of childhood is a priority across Government. As Minister for Children and Families, I lead and co-ordinate the necessary action. I will shortly publish a report setting out the progress which has been made in implementing the recommendations of the independent Bailey review. The Prime Minister has recently appointed my hon. Friend the Member for Devizes (Claire Perry) to advise him on all aspects of the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood.

Education: East Midlands

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on each school pupil in each local authority area in the East Midlands in each of the last five years.

David Laws: The available information on how much has been spent on each school pupil in each local education authority in the East of England for the last five years is shown in the following table. The information for 2011-12 will be available at the end of January 2013 when it will be published as Official Statistics.
	
		
			  2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 East Midlands      
			 Derby 4,757 5,078 5,273' 5,413 5,707 
			 Derbyshire 4,330 4,623 4,925 5,291 5,327 
			 Leicester 4,957 5,308 5,403 5,792 6,549 
			 Leicestershire 4,169 4,299 4,792 4,994 4,906 
			 Lincolnshire 4,335 4,603 5,195 5,368 5,431 
			 Northamptonshire 4,215 4,469 4,652 4,695 4,680 
			 Nottingham 5,348 5,698 6,122 6,267 6,346 
			 Nottinghamshire 4,411 4,689 5,101 5,278 5,464 
			 Rutland 4,539 5,686 5,064 5,216 5,331 
			       
			 England 4,709 5,048 5,335 5,554 5,695

Education: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on education in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Nottinghamshire in each financial year since 2009-10.

David Laws: Figures are not available for the parliamentary constituency of Ashfield as data are collected at a local authority level. The available information on how much has been spent on education in Nottinghamshire local authority is shown as follows.
	
		
			  Rounded (£000) 
			 2009-10 598,887,000 
			 2010-11 606,812,000

Families

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to measure family breakdown by local authority area; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education has no plans to measure family breakdown by local authority area. The Department for Work and Pensions will be measuring the proportion of children who have a stable family free from breakdown at a national level as outlined in the Social Justice Outcomes Framework published in October 2012. There are no plans as part of this work to look at family breakdown by local authority.

Financial Services: Education

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  whether Ofsted holds any evidence on the effect of financial education in schools;
	(2)  what evidence Ofsted holds on how financially capable young people are.

David Laws: These questions are a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to the hon. Member, and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Sir Michael Wilshaw, dated 9 January 2013
	Your recent Parliamentary questions have been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	Ofsted carries out school inspections under section 5 of the Education Act 2005, and more recently the Education Act 2011. There is no specific judgement in routine inspections about the quality of financial education in schools, or separate assessment of how financially capable young people are. However, financial education has been reported on as part of Ofsted's programme of subject survey reports.
	The most recent report that included evidence about the provision for financial education was Ofsted's survey report ‘Economics, business and enterprise education’, published in June 2011. In 2008, evidence from a more focused survey of good practice in relation to financial education was published in ‘Developing financially capable young people’. Financial education was also reported on in Ofsted's 2010 survey of personal, social, health and economic education (PSHEE). All of these reports are available at:
	www.ofsted.gov.uk
	and Ofsted will be publishing another report on PSHEE later this year.
	Ofsted has found that, in primary schools where provision for financial education was judged to be good, the promotion of financial capability was integrated well throughout the curriculum and pupils gained a good understanding, relative to their age, about—for instance—earning, spending and saving, and the distinction between wants and needs. In primary schools where provision was weak, too little attention was given to handling money and making decisions about spending and saving pocket money.
	Ofsted has found that, in secondary schools where provision was good, students were developing a good understanding of personal finance, and were able to use financial terms correctly and apply their knowledge to making financial decisions. The 2011 survey found that in most secondary schools, students' personal financial capability remained underdeveloped, unless they were studying formally assessed qualifications in this area.

School Leaving

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what plans he has to monitor compliance with the raising of the participation age by age cohort;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the equality impact of the introduction of the raised participation age in respect of (a) gender, (b) race and (c) disability;
	(3)  what guidance has been issued to local authorities in relation to their duties to young people aged 16 to 18 not in employment, education or training following the introduction of the raised participation age;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the cost of introducing the raised participation age in each local authority area.

David Laws: Local authorities have existing duties to secure sufficient education provision for young people and to support young people to participate. In order to achieve this, local authorities are expected to have a detailed understanding of the numbers and needs of young people in their area. Local authorities record information about young peoples' participation in education and training on their local Client Caseload Information System. Aggregate information from these local databases is used to produce local statistics on the proportion of young people participating in education and training and the percentage who are NEET. These are already made public on the Department for Education website(1) and will continue to be used to monitor local participation rates as we raise the participation age.
	These data will also include equality information—age, gender, ethnicity and disability. An equality impact assessment was carried out during the passage of the Education and Skills Act (ESA) 2008(2). This made clear that raising the participation age
	“will have a significant positive impact on removing current inequalities in education and training”
	related to gender, race and disability.
	We intend to publish brief statutory guidance for local authorities with regard to their duties under part 1 of ESA 2008 early in 2013. Our intention is that this will reaffirm the policy and legislative position set out in our response to the consultation on RPA regulations published in July 2012(3). We expect all local authorities to already be engaged in planning for how they will deliver RPA locally, building on their existing duties in this area.
	The ESA 2008 contains two new duties on local authorities —to monitor young people's participation and to promote participation in all of their functions. These clearly build upon local authorities' existing statutory duties and are already being carried out effectively where local authorities are fulfilling those existing duties. We have made clear that we will not commence the enforcement process against young people set out in the original legislation in 2013. The Education Funding Agency provides funding for education and training places. The Youth Contract for 16 to 17-year-olds is also providing additional support for the most disaffected young people to support their participation in education, training or work with training and we expect local authorities to refer eligible young people to the Youth Contract where appropriate.
	(1)http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/youngpeople/participation/neet/a0064101/16--to-18-year-olds-not-in-education-employment-or-training
	(2)http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/youngpeople/participation/rpa/a00210946/consultation-response
	(3)http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/youngpeople/participation/rpa/a00210946/consultation-response

Schools: Finance

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what representations he has received on the effect of funding changes on small schools from April 2013;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the likely effects of funding changes on small schools from April 2013;
	(3)  what the (a) minimum, (b) maximum, (c) mean, (d) modal and (e) median payment to small schools will be after funding changes planned for April 2013;
	(4)  what recent assessment he has made of the number of small schools in rural areas which may close as a result of funding changes planned for April 2013.

David Laws: The Department has received a number of representations about the effect of funding changes on small schools and I have also met with Members, local authority representatives and school leaders to discuss the implications for individual schools and local areas.
	We remain firmly committed to supporting good local schools including in rural areas, and I would not expect any of these schools to close as a result of funding changes from April 2013. Schools are protected from significant changes to their budgets by a minimum funding guarantee, which ensures that no school can lose more than 1.5% of its per-pupil funding from one year to the next, for the remainder of this spending period. Furthermore, we have committed to putting in place a new minimum funding guarantee—at a level to be determined—from 2015-16 onwards.
	Analysis conducted by the Department estimates the average fixed costs of a small primary school to be approximately £95,000. So that local authorities would have the flexibility to support smaller schools of all types, the Department confirmed, in June 2012, that local authorities could allocate a lump sum of up to £200,000 to all the schools in their area for 2013-14. This lump sum ensures the sustainability of small schools that are operating efficiently. As part of a wider review of 2013-14 school funding arrangements, we will review both the amount and use of the lump sum before announcing funding arrangements for 2014-15.
	As well as supporting small rural schools through our funding arrangements, we are continuing with our policy of a presumption against the closure of rural schools as set out in section 15 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
	It is not yet possible to establish exact funding levels for small schools from April 2013 as local authorities are still in the process of finalising their budgets for the next financial year.
	None of the funding reforms being implemented by the Department for Education in April 2013 will affect schools in Wales.

Schools: Sports

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects Ofsted to publish its report on current levels of sports participation in schools.

David Laws: holding answer 15 January 2013
	This question is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to the hon. Member, and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Sir Michael Wilshaw, dated 14 January 2013
	Your recent Parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for response.
	I expect that Ofsted's report, “Physical education in schools 2008-12”, will be published in February 2013. It will focus on the quality of physical education in schools, rather than current levels of pupils' participation in sport.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to David Laws MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.

Schools: Sports

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how he proposes to assess the effect of the London 2012 Olympic legacy on school sport.

Edward Timpson: We are currently working with other Government Departments to explore options to build on the legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to ensure that all young people get the best possible range of opportunities to enjoy physical activity and to play competitive sport in and outside of school.
	An announcement will be made shortly.
	We will ensure that appropriate assessment mechanisms are included within our plans.

Sixth Form Education: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many 16 to 18 year-olds who are entitled to free school meals are studying in a general further education or sixth form college in Ashfield constituency.

David Laws: There are no FE or sixth form Colleges in Ashfield. In the table we estimate how many 16 to 18-year-olds living in Nottinghamshire local authority were studying in FE colleges and sixth form colleges and were eligible for free school meals (FSM) when they were in year 11.
	We have used Free School Meals status in year 11 because it is not possible to determine whether young people in colleges would meet the current Free School Meals criteria.
	
		
			 16 to 18-year-olds resident in Nottinghamshire and studying in further education colleges and sixth form colleges in 2010/11 by FSM status at age 15 
			  Full time/Part time status in post-16 study Number studying in FE or sixth form college 
			 Eligible for FSM at 15 Full time education 920 
			  Part time education 105 
			 Total — 1,025 
			    
			 Not eligible for FSM at 15 Full time education 7,015 
			  Part time education 810 
			 Total — 7,830 
			    
			 Unknown FSM status at 15 Full time education 615 
			  Part time education 130 
			 Total — 740 
			    
			 All Full time education 8,550 
		
	
	
		
			  Part time education 1,045 
			 Total — 9,595

Special Educational Needs: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on special educational needs in the Nottinghamshire local authority area in financial years (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13.

David Laws: The information for 2011-12 will be available at the end of January 2013 when it will be published as Official Statistics. The 2012-13 information will be collected in August 2013 and I will write to the hon. Member when the data are published in January 2014.

University Technical Colleges

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to increase the number of university technical colleges.

David Laws: In addition to the five UTCs that are already open, the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has already approved a further 26 which are now preparing to open in either September 2013 or 2014. Since November 2012, the Department has been assessing new applications for UTCs and expects to announce the next wave of projects before the end of March this year.

JUSTICE

Applied Language Solutions

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much ALS/Capita has been paid (a) in total and (b) in each month since taking over the contract for the delivery of language services to his Department.

Helen Grant: Spend per month on the Capita language services contract with the Ministry of Justice is set out in the following table. The figures for October and November 2012 are combined because Capita missed the October deadline for submitting its invoice.
	
		
			 Month in 2012 Spend (£) 
			 February 110,419.53 
			 March 439,935.20 
			 April 642,027.36 
			 May 693,325.92 
			 June 797,555.15 
			 July 1,116,034.18 
			 August 1,003,596.92 
		
	
	
		
			 September 944,674.26 
			 October and November 1,851,512.76 
			 December 913,748.54 
			 Total 8,513,829.82

Applied Language Solutions

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what financial penalties ALS/Capita has paid (a) in total and (b) in each month for missing agreed service delivery standards since taking over the contract for the delivery of language services to his Department.

Helen Grant: Capita only gets paid for completed bookings, so if it cannot supply an interpreter, it does not get paid. The Ministry of Justice manages poor service delivery and performance through a number of methods and remedies open to them under the contract. The Ministry is continually working with the supplier to improve performance delivery standards.
	Service credits can be imposed on Capita in line with the terms of the contract when performance falls below the contractual level of 98% success rate. Ministry of Justice Procurement took the commercial decision not to impose service credits February to April due to the investment of £3.5 million by Capita to improve service performance. This is a normal decision at the beginning of a new contract. Service credits have been applied by the Department from June 2012 covering May onwards, as set out in the following table. The low amounts are due to increasing improvement in service to 95.3% performance by August 2012. The service credit amounts for the final months of 2012 will be available in February.
	
		
			 Month in 2012 Service credit imposed (£) 
			 May 347 
			 June 416 
			 July 422 
			 August 279 
			 Total 1,464 
		
	
	Service credits are not penalties, they are one of the remedies under the contract. As part of the competitive dialogue process we asked the bidders to provide us with their approach to service credits against a set of key performance indicators. The service credits presented by Applied Language Solutions were equal if not greater than those presented by other bidders.

Applied Language Solutions

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the break clause is in his Department's contract with ALS/Capita for the delivery of language services.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice signed the framework agreement for the justice sector in August 2011 for four years with Applied Language Solutions, now owned by Capita. The Department signed its own contract under the framework agreement in October 2011 for five years.
	The framework agreement does not prevent the Ministry of Justice from contracting with other providers. Break clauses for material breach are also included in the contract.
	The National Audit Office recommended that the Ministry of Justice fully implement the contract, and we are discussing this with interpreters, Capita and other partners to the framework agreement.

Children in Care

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children in care in each year from 1997 to 2012 were of (a) white British, (b) black Caribbean, (c) black African, (d) Pakistani, (e) Indian, (f) Bangladeshi and (g) other ethnic group origin.

Edward Timpson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Education.
	Information on the ethnic group of children looked after by local authorities was collected for the first time in 2001. Information for the years prior to this is therefore not available. The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 All children looked after at 31 March by ethnic origin(1, 2) 
			 Years ending: 31 March 2001 to 2012 
			 Coverage: England 
			 Number 
			  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 All children looked after at 31 March 58,890 59,710 60,820 61,220 60,980 60,340 59,990 59,380 60,910 64,460 65,520 67,050 
			              
			 White 48,810 49,020 49,530 48,750 48,070 46,960 46,420 45,570 46,190 49,010 50,410 52,050 
			 White British 46,740 46,760 47,170 46,300 45,840 44,960 44,580 43,780 44,480 47,180 48,530 49,910 
			 White Irish 570 530 570 520 490 450 410 420 390 390 370 330 
			 Traveller of Irish Heritage(3) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 30 40 40 50 
			 Gypsy/Roma(3) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 30 60 90 120 
			 Any other White background 1,500 1,730 1,790 1,920 1,730 1,550 1,430 1,370 1,260 1,340 1,380 1,640 
			 Mixed 4,450 4,690 4,990 5,180 5,250 5,240 5,320 5,230 5,290 5,640 5,710 5,960 
			 White and Black Caribbean 1,860 1,960 2,060 2,150 2,150 2,130 2,170 2,140 2,150 2,260 2,250 2,250 
		
	
	
		
			 White and Black African 310 330 390 430 460 470 490 500 500 550 620 650 
			 White and Asian 650 680 760 790 810 840 880 860 850 950 1,010 1,120 
			 Any other mixed background 1,640 1,730 1,780 1,800 1,840 1,800 1,770 1,740 1,780 1,870 1,840 1,930 
			 Asian or Asian British 1,070 1,210 1,290 1,510 1,790 2,120 2,350 2,810 3,230 3,420 3,120 2,820 
			 Indian 290 290 290 300 290 300 300 310 300 320 300 280 
			 Pakistani 420 450 480 510 570 600 640 660 670 740 770 760 
			 Bangladeshi 140 170 170 230 270 280 280 310 350 410 430 440 
			 Any other Asian background 220 290 350 470 670 940 1,130 1,520 1,900 1,950 1,630 1,350 
			 Black or Black British 3,590 3,840 4,020 4,820 4,870 4,900 4,720 4,460 4,410 4,590 4,560 4,510 
			 Caribbean 1,520 1,530 1,550 1,670 1,650 1,660 1,650 1,600 1,570 1,660 1,630 1,540 
			 African 1,370 1,590 1,710 2,320 2,390 2,430 2,320 2,140 2,100 2,110 2,070 2,100 
			 Any other Black background 700 720 750 820 830 810 760 720 750 820 860 870 
			 Other ethnic groups 960 950 990 970 1,000 1,110 1,180 1,310 1,660 1,660 1,490 1,290 
			 Chinese 50 80 70 120 120 120 120 130 140 130 110 70 
			 Any other ethnic group 910 880 910 850 880 990 1,060 1,180 1,510 1,530 1,380 1,220 
			 Other n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 140 140 220 430 
			 Refused(3) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 10 10 20 30 
			 Information not yet available(3) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 130 130 210 400 
			 n/a =not applicable. (1) Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. (2) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements. (3) Ethnic origin classification collected for the first time in 2009. Source: SSDA 903

Community Orders

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the evidence base is to show that punitive community requirements will act as a deterrence mechanism and reduce crime;
	(2)  when he will publish research into the effectiveness of different community order requirements and their effect on reoffending rates for similar offenders.

Jeremy Wright: Provisions in the Crime and Courts Bill will require courts to include a punitive element in every community order unless there are exceptional circumstances.
	We have undertaken research to determine the relative effectiveness of community order requirements at reducing re-offending, for offenders with similar characteristics. In relation to punitive requirements, the key findings of the research were that:
	Offenders who receive supervision plus certain punitive requirements (unpaid work or curfew) committed fewer re-offences within a two-year period of the community order, compared to those who only receive supervision;
	Offenders who receive supervision plus a curfew committed fewer re-offences within a two-year period of the community order, compared to those who receive only supervision;
	Offenders who receive supervision, a punitive requirement (unpaid work or curfew) and a programme requirement were less likely to reoffend and committed fewer re-offences within a two-year period of the community order, compared to those who receive supervision and a punitive requirement;
	There was no impact on reoffending of adding a punitive requirement to certain other specified combinations of requirements; and
	Adding supervision to a standalone punitive requirement reduces reoffending.
	This research is published on the MOJ website and can be located on the following webpage:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/research-and-analysis/moj/effectiveness-community-order-requirements
	We have also published a full impact assessment which outlines the impact of this proposal on reoffending rates. This can be located on the following webpage:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/effective-community-services-1/results/community-sentences-response-ia.pdf

Community Orders

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether it is his policy that punitive requirements as conditions of community orders will replace rehabilitative ones.

Jeremy Wright: Provisions in the Crime and Courts Bill will require courts to include a punitive element in every community order unless there are exceptional circumstances that would make it unjust for the court do so.
	It will remain for the court to determine the number and type of requirements within a community order. Subject to the requirement to include a punitive element, section 148(2)(a) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 will continue to provide that the requirement or requirements imposed as part of a community order should be those that are, in the court's opinion, most suitable for the offender. Courts will also continue to be required under section 142(1) of the 2003 Act to have regard to the five purposes of sentencing, which include the reform and rehabilitation of offenders.

Community Orders

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the effect on the cost of the National Offender Management Service of any increase in the use of electronic monitoring as a consequence of the introduction of punitive requirements to community penalties.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice published its response to the “'Punishment and reform: effective community sentences” consultation on 23 October 2012. We are currently legislating to require courts to include a punitive element in every community sentence unless there are exceptional circumstances.
	The full impact assessment that MOJ published alongside the Government response can be found on the MOJ website on the following webpage:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/effective-community-services-1/results/community-sentences-response-ia.pdf
	We are also in the process of re-competing new contracts for the delivery of electronic monitoring services, which will drive down unit costs, but we cannot disclose information on these while the competition is in process.

Crimes of Violence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to tackle violent offences against those accused of being witches and to ensure prosecution of the perpetrators.

Edward Timpson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Education.
	The organisations participating in the National Working Group on Child Abuse Linked to Faith or Belief, including the Department for Education, are involved in developing practical solutions to tackle this abuse. The group decided that this could most effectively be achieved by means of an action plan, which was published in August 2012 and which sets out problems and solutions for members of the Working Group to take forward. Supporting victims and witnesses is a key theme in the action plan.
	The Working Group meets on a regular basis to report and review progress in implementing the action plan and the next meeting will take place on 21 January 2013.

Electronic Tagging

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many offenders (a) were tagged and (b) breached the conditions of their tag in each year from 1997 to 2012;
	(2)  what sanctions were applied for breaches of licences by offenders who were tagged in each year from 1997 to 2012;
	(3)  what the average length of time was for which an offender was tagged in each year from 1997 to 2012;
	(4)  how many (a) men and (b) women were tagged in each year from 1997 to 2012;
	(5)  what the average age was of those offenders who were tagged in each year from 1997 to 2012;
	(6)  what the twelve-month re-offending rate was of those offenders who were tagged in each year from 1997 to 2012;
	(7)  what the average number of previous convictions was of those offenders who were tagged in each year from 1997 to 2012;
	(8)  how many of those offenders who are tagged have (a) no previous convictions, (b) one to five, (c) six to 10, (d) 11 to 15, (e) 16 to 20 and (f) more than 20 previous convictions;
	(9)  what the average cost of electronic tagging an offender was in each year from 1997 to 2012;
	(10)  what amount his Department has paid to each private company delivering electronic tagging services for the Department (a) in total since 1997 and (b) in each year from 1997 to 2012.

Jeremy Wright: The first national electronic monitoring contracts in England and Wales commenced on 28 January 1999. Information from local piloting schemes prior to this is not centrally available.
	Information on new electronic monitoring orders imposed in England and Wales between financial years 1999-2000 and 2011-12 is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Table 1: New electronic monitoring starts, England and Wales, financial years 1998-99 to 2011-12(1, 2) 
			  All subjects(3) Offenders(3) 
			 1998-99(4) 3,508 3,452 
			 1999-2000 19,073 19,012 
			 2000-01 19,962 19,956 
			 2001-02 21,796 21,754 
			 2002-03 37,924 35,480 
			 2003-04 46,472 42,045 
			 2004-05 53,230 47,386 
			 2005-06 60,006 51,458 
			 2006-07 73,205 54,878 
			 2007-08 90,036 65,100 
			 2008-09 100,055 69,895 
			 2009-10 105,773 70,515 
			 2010-11(2) 115,874 79,698 
			 2011-12(2) 105,105 78,110 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 848,417 658,739 
			 (1) These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. (2) Before October 2010 extensions of bail curfews (e.g. when a monitored defendant attended court and was re-bailed) were classed as new starts, whereas afterwards they were not. This caused an apparent fall in bail new starts over the period. (3) All subjects comprises bail, court order and released from custody; offenders comprises subjects sentenced to a court order or released from custody on licence. (4) Figures for 1998-99 are for 28 January 1999 to 31 March 1999 only (contract period). 
		
	
	Breach data before September 2010 are only available at disproportionate cost due to data crossover when the contractor’s case management system was upgraded. For offenders’ orders ending in financial year 2011-12 in England and Wales, 34,086 orders were reported by the contractors to the appropriate authority for breach action at least once, of 81,242 orders ending in that period.
	The data are from the electronic monitoring service providers. The information held refers to violations reaching the breach threshold reported to the relevant authority such as the Probation Trust, Prison Service, Youth Offending Service, or police, and does not necessarily relate to breach action taken. In many cases the subject subsequently went on to complete the Order with no need for further intervention.
	The National Offender Management Service is currently reviewing the information provided by the suppliers of electronic monitoring services to determine what historical statistics can be obtained and what should be published in future.
	Offenders on licence who breach their electronically monitored curfew are reported by the electronic monitoring contractors to the appropriate criminal justice authority for recall to custody. It is not possible to provide the number of license recalls where the offender was electronically monitored except at disproportionate cost. Information would only be available through a manual trawl of prison and Probation Trust records.
	Before 2011-12 it is not possible to provide the actual average number of days an offender is electronically monitored for the full time period except at disproportionate cost. However, an estimated number of days in each monitored period for offenders (sentenced to a court order or released on licence) from 2005-06 is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Table 2: Estimated length of each period of electronic monitoring for offenders(1), financial years 2005-06 to 2011-12(2) 
			  Estimated(3) average length of each period of electronic monitoring 
			 2005-06 74 
			 2006-07 74 
			 2007-08 74 
			 2008-09 73 
			 2009-10 72 
			 2010-11 70 
			 2011-12(4) 71 
		
	
	
		
			 (1) Offenders are subjects sentenced to a court order or released on licence. (2) These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. (3) Information on the average number of days that a person is electronically monitored is not routinely available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost, with the exception of 2011-12. The estimates were calculated by dividing the estimated total days of electronic monitoring for the period by the total number of new starts in the period. (4) For 2011-12, where the order has not yet ended, but an end date was given when the order was received, the contractor used that date to calculate the length of the order. For post-release orders in 2011-12 the contractor excluded data for orders that were still running in July, but for which the end date was not yet known. 
		
	
	Gender information is not routinely reported by the electronic monitoring contractors. The information will take time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available.
	The National Offender Management Service is currently reviewing the information provided by the suppliers of electronic monitoring services to determine what historical statistics can be obtained and what should be published in future.
	Age information is not routinely reported by the electronic monitoring contractors. The information will take time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available. However, in 2011, the average age for an electronically monitored offender (subject to a court order or released on licence) was 28.
	The Ministry of Justice is responsible for electronic monitoring in England and Wales. Adult (aged 18+) and juvenile (aged 10-17) proven re-offending data, by index disposal, for cohorts in England and Wales up to the 2010 cohort (latest available) are published in the Proven Re-offending Statistics Quarterly bulletin in tables 18a and 18b, available at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/reoffending/proven-reoffending-jan10-dec10-tables.xls
	Adults whose sentence included an electronically monitored curfew element are included in the proven re-offending rate for Court Orders (34.1% of adult offenders who started a court order in 2010 committed a proved re-offence within 12 months from the start of their sentence). Court Orders include pre-Criminal Justice Act 2003 community sentences, new community orders and suspended sentence orders, therefore these rates include individuals whose sentence did not include an electronically monitored curfew requirement. Disaggregating these data would be possible only at disproportionate cost.
	Juveniles whose sentence included an electronically monitored curfew element are included in the proven re-offending rates for Youth Curfew Orders (60.5% of juvenile offenders who were released on curfew in 2010 committed a proven re-offence within 12 months from the start of their sentence) and Youth Rehabilitation Orders (69.5% of juvenile offenders who were given a Youth Rehabilitation Order in 2010 committed a proven re-offence within 12 months from the start of their sentence). The Youth Curfew Order rate includes curfew orders with and without electronic monitoring and is one of nine separate youth sentences that were incorporated into the Youth Rehabilitation Order which came into effect for offences committed from 30 November 2009; electronic monitoring is one of 18 requirements that can be made as part of the Youth Rehabilitation Order; therefore these rates include individuals whose sentence did not include an electronically monitored curfew requirement. Disaggregating these data would be possible only at disproportionate cost.
	Please note that the Ministry's proven re-offending data measure re-offending of offenders within 12 months of commencing a court order. Therefore, this will not include all re-offences committed while subject to a court order: (a) some sentences last less than 12 months so an offender may no longer be subject to a court order at the time of committing the re-offence; and (b) some sentences last more than 12 months and the re-offending measure will not pick up any re-offences committed in months 13 and beyond.
	A proven re-offence is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one year follow-up. Following this one year period, a further six month waiting period is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.
	Proven re-offending rates for offenders receiving Youth Curfew Orders and Youth Rehabilitation Orders should not be compared to the proven re-offending rates for other sentences, as there is no control for known differences in offender characteristics.
	It is not possible to provide the average number of previous convictions of electronic monitoring subjects except at disproportionate cost. Information could be obtained only by interrogating police records.
	It is not possible to provide the number of previous convictions of electronic monitoring subjects except at disproportionate cost. Information could be obtained only by interrogating police records.
	The average annual cost for each electronic monitoring subject is approximated as Financial payment in year/new electronic monitoring curfews. It is not possible to disaggregate the cost for offenders from the total cost, which includes subjects on bail, or to disaggregate all of the one-off payments.
	Information on the estimated average cost per new electronically monitoring curfew is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Table 5. Estimated average cost per new electronically monitored curfew in England and Wales, financial years 1998-99 to 2011-12(1, 2) 
			  Estimated cost per new start (£) 
			 1998-99(3) n/a 
			 1999-2000 1,576 
			 2000-01 1,647 
			 2001-02(4) 1,770 
			 2002-03 1,673 
			 2003-04 1,755 
			 2004-05(5) 1,932 
			 2005-06(6) 974 
			 2006-07 935 
			 2007-08(7) 915 
			 2008-09 924 
			 2009-10 887 
			 2010-11(8) 877 
			 2011-12(8) 1,113 
		
	
	
		
			 (1) All costs include VAT which rose from 17.5% to 20.0% in January 2011. (2) Average cost in year includes one-off payments made to contractors (e.g. set up and transition charges). (3) First contract year ran from 28 January 1999 to 31 January 2000. (4) Includes voice verification set up charge. (5) Includes tracking set up charges. Also includes £4,282,631 total transition payments to Premier and Securicor. (6) Includes £472,312.40 payment to G4S for transition installation charges. Does not include exit payment to Reliance of £587,500,000 (inc VAT). (7) Includes £545,710.27 EMDAS payments. (8) Before October 2010 extensions of bail curfews (e.g. where a monitored defendant attended court and was re-bailed) were classed as new starts, whereas afterwards they were not. This caused an apparent fall in bail new starts over the period. The period after October 2010 is therefore not comparable with the period before. 
		
	
	Information on the amount paid to each private company delivering electronic tagging services for the Department is contained in the following table:
	
		
			 Table 5. Financial payments to electronic monitoring contractors in England and Wales, financial years 1998-99 to 2011-12(1, 2) 
			  Total (£) Serco (£) G4S (£) 
			 1998-99(3) 5,769,533.00 n/a n/a 
			 1999-2000 30,057,536.00 n/a n/a 
			 2000-01 32,871,924.00 n/a n/a 
			 2001-02(4) 38,588,708.00 n/a n/a 
			 2002-03 63,448,639.00 n/a n/a 
			 2003-04 81,551,869.00 n/a n/a 
			 2004-05(5) 102,833,756.00 n/a n/a 
			 2005-06(6) 58,448,887.51 21,574,309.39 36,874,578.12 
			 2006-07 68,475,135.31 26,331,248.40 42,143,886.90 
			 2007-08(7) 82,356,667.53 33,287,146.71 49,069,520.83 
			 2008-09 92,436,114.71 37,820,550.51 54,615,564.21 
			 2009-10 93,872,485.81 40,666,092.66 53,206,393.15 
			 2010-11(8) 101,607,672.50 46,120,078.31 55,487,594.19 
			 2011-12(8) 116,906,086.86 54,646,542.56 62,259,544.30 
			 Total 969,225,015.24 n/a n/a 
			 (1) All costs include VAT which rose from 17.5% to 20.0% in January 2011. (2) Payments by provider are only available for the current contracts (from April 2005); only total costs are available before this date. (3) First contract year ran from 28 January 1999 to 31 January 2000 (4) Includes voice verification set up charge. (5) Includes tracking set up charges. Also includes £4,282,631 total transition payments to Premier and Securicor. (6) Includes £472,312.40 payment to G4S for transition installation charges. Does not include exit payment to Reliance of £587,500,000 (inc VAT) (7) Includes £545,710.27 EMDAS payments. (8) Before October 2010 extensions of bail curfews (e.g. where a monitored defendant attended court and was re-bailed) were classed as new starts, whereas afterwards they were not. This caused an apparent fall in bail new starts over the period. The period after October 2010 is therefore not comparable with the period before.

Government Procurement Card

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) staff and (b) special advisers in his Department have use of a Government Procurement Card.

Damian Green: The Ministry of Justice has 2638 members of staff with Government Procurement Cards. None of the Department's special advisers hold a Government Procurement Card.

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) nationality and (b) gender was of each suspected victim of trafficking referred to the Trafficking Victim Support Scheme operated by the Salvation Army in December 2012; in which local authority area each of the suspected victims was found; and which agency referred each case to the scheme.

Helen Grant: In December 2012, there were 40 referrals to the Government-funded support service for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales administered by The Salvation Army. In the interests of victim safety the region in which the victim was encountered is provided rather than the local authority. Details are provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Nationality Gender Region Referring agency 
			 Albanian Female Yorkshire Legal representative 
			 Albanian Female West Midlands UKBA 
			 Albanian Female South East NGO 
			 Albanian Female North East Police 
			 British Female South Legal representative 
			 Bulgarian Male Yorkshire Social services 
			 Cameroon Female East Prison Service 
			 Chinese Male South West Legal representative 
			 Chinese Female South UKBA 
			 Ghanaian Female South East Police 
			 Ghanaian Female South NGO 
			 Hungarian Female North West Police 
			 Hungarian Female Yorkshire NGO 
			 Hungarian Female West Midlands Police 
			 Iranian Female South UKBA 
			 Kenyan Female South East UKBA 
			 Latvian Male Yorkshire Police 
			 Nigerian Female Yorkshire UKBA 
			 Nigerian Female South UKBA 
			 Nigerian Female South Counselling Service 
			 Nigerian Female South East Self-referral 
			 Nigerian Female South East UKBA 
			 Nigerian Female West Midlands UKBA 
			 Nigerian/Liberian Female South East Self-referral 
			 Polish Female Yorkshire Police 
			 Polish Male West Midlands Police 
			 Romanian Female West Midlands Police 
			 Romanian Female West Midlands Police 
			 Romanian Male Wales The Salvation Army 
			     
			 Romanian Female Wales The Salvation Army 
			 Romanian Female North West Police 
			 Sierra Leone Female North East Prison Service 
			 Slovakian Male North East The Salvation Army 
			 Slovakian Male North East The Salvation Army 
		
	
	
		
			 Slovakian Female North East Police 
			 Slovakian Female South East Social Services 
			 Slovakian Male East Police 
			 Sri Lankan Male South Legal representative 
			 Togolese Male West Midlands NGO 
			 Ugandan Female South East Solicitor

Press: Subscriptions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much his Department spent on newspapers and periodicals in 2011-12;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2012, Official Report, column 280W, on press subscriptions, how much his Department has spent on subscriptions since May 2010.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice's press office buys national newspapers on a daily basis. Library and Information Service purchases publications for the judiciary, courts, tribunals, and for the Ministry of Justice and Royal Courts of Justice libraries. The same account codes are used for the purchase of books as well as newspapers and periodicals. There is no central record of any subscriptions held by other business units. A complete answer to these questions cannot therefore be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners have been held in each prison in England and Wales in each of the last five years; and in each such case what was the country of origin and offence committed.

Jeremy Wright: As of 30 June of each year from 2009 to 2012 and for England and Wales, table A provides information on the number of foreign national prisoners held in each prison; table B on foreign national prisoners by nationality and table C on foreign national prisoners by offence group.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Table A: Foreign national prisoners by prison establishment, as of 30 June of each year, England and Wales 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Altcourse 85 114 92 66 38 
			 Ashfield 33 18 29 41 28 
			 Ashwell 58 19 5 — — 
			 Askham Grange 5 2 1 3 4 
			 Aylesbury 61 63 78 74 68 
			 Bedford 105 105 102 94 92 
			 Belmarsh 224 176 174 157 198 
			 Birmingham 214 196 236 199 190 
			 Blantyre House — 2 — — 2 
			 Blundeston 106 77 83 47 40 
			 Brinsford 37 37 52 48 56 
		
	
	
		
			 Bristol 64 58 55 55 73 
			 Brixton 239 285 240 247 83 
			 Bronzefield 129 98 150 124 112 
			 Buckley Hall 25 21 4 4 6 
			 Bullingdon 161 141 147 149 146 
			 Bullwood Hall 199 221 217 213 212 
			 Bure — — 61 58 68 
			 Canterbury 288 281 279 294 294 
			 Cardiff 72 60 58 40 38 
			 Channings Wood 49 18 5 12 45 
			 Chelmsford 131 90 88 89 82 
			 Coldingley 62 20 18 30 30 
			 Cookham Wood 2 6 13 18 14 
			 Dartmoor 39 68 68 40 21 
			 Deerbolt 20 10 15 11 6 
			 Doncaster 110 80 112 79 103 
			 Dorchester 18 14 16 18 15 
			 Dovegate 117 97 98 83 77 
			 Dover IRC 300 307 304 268 295 
			 Downview 71 79 69 79 91 
			 Drake Hall 60 44 41 93 60 
			 Durham 62 94 58 28 33 
			 East Sutton Park 8 5 4 5 1 
			 Eastwood Park 32 45 35 32 29 
			 Edmunds Hill 78 90 86 86 — 
			 Elmley (Sheppey cluster) 150 145 162 169 161 
			 Erlestoke 58 11 16 7 13 
			 Everthorpe 29 9 11 7 16 
			 Exeter 29 27 38 34 21 
			 Featherstone 73 67 57 50 47 
			 Feltham 149 180 140 149 151 
			 Ford 65 62 44 35 29 
			 Forest Bank 104 88 99 64 50 
			 Foston Hall 26 8 13 30 26 
			 Frankland 39 47 56 56 62 
			 Full Sutton 57 45 55 73 73 
			 Garth 49 54 57 67 66 
			 Gartree 43 62 83 89 109 
			 Glen Parva 80 55 65 55 79 
			 Gloucester 26 21 33 26 27 
			 Grendon 14 24 20 1 11 
			 Guys Marsh 58 89 66 47 47 
			 Haslar IRC 143 149 112 130 137 
			 Hatfield 4 3 4 8 5 
			 Haverigg 20 17 111 70 40 
			 Hewell(1) 183 170 189 143 157 
			 High Down 231 223 224 232 190 
			 Highpoint (North and South) 200 177 190 300 195 
			 Hindley 17 12 9 18 13 
			 Hollesley Bay 9 8 11 5 4 
			 Holloway 159 133 121 171 172 
			 Holme House 62 27 31 37 51 
			 Hull 58 75 72 69 52 
			 Huntercombe 56 39 11 6 291 
		
	
	
		
			 Isis(2) — — — 53 108 
			 Isle of Wight(3) 226 216 220 197 199 
			 Kennet 16 6 2 4 3 
			 Kingston 14 18 14 335 22 
			 Kirkham 5 7 5 5 9 
			 Kirklevington Grange — 4 — 2 1 
			 Lancaster 5 1 5 — — 
			 Lancaster Farms 22 18 18 14 19 
			 Latchmere House 12 5 5 5 — 
			 Leeds 90 113 92 94 92 
			 Leicester 69 71 69 57 58 
			 Lewes 100 60 51 54 70 
			 Leyhill 35 22 26 31 22 
			 Lincoln 71 85 77 78 83 
			 Lindholme 135 254 289 320 95 
			 Littlehey 106 110 137 173 217 
			 Liverpool 126 144 113 75 79 
			 Long Lartin 58 82 83 85 86 
			 Low Newton 21 15 8 6 6 
			 Lowdham Grange 101 105 125 121 101 
			 Maidstone 95 242 236 186 165 
			 Manchester 189 163 165 109 111 
			 Moorland 38 36 42 16 165 
			 Morton Hall IRC(4) 262 228 174 119 286 
			 Mount 222 207 191 194 106 
			 New Hall 38 29 28 36 20 
			 North Sea Camp 12 4 7 90 11 
			 Northallerton 6 3 4 5 8 
			 Northumberland(5) 37 35 22 9 8 
			 Norwich 90 59 84 23 96 
			 Nottingham 72 77 69 2 98 
			 Onley 68 38 38 99 16 
			 Oakwood — — — — 30 
			 Parc 41 43 40 18 67 
			 Pentonville 367 332 298 75 349 
			 Peterborough (Male)(6) 98 114 107 32 105 
			 Peterborough (Female)(6) 52 61 69 46 35 
			 Portland 83 68 55 38 34 
			 Prescoed 3 5 2 4 1 
			 Preston 38 37 35 64 28 
			 Ranby 92 105 108 127 119 
			 Reading 15 25 19 100 18 
			 Risley 71 123 148 59 195 
			 Rochester 58 95 127 17 63 
			 Rye Hill 135 134 120 143 105 
			 Send 43 36 30 29 24 
			 Shepton Mallet 5 6 8 51 14 
			 Shrewsbury 44 30 14 24 16 
			 Spring Hill — — — 6 9 
			 Stafford 51 63 74 10 45 
			 Standford Hill (Sheppey cluster) 31 38 32 17 26 
			 Stocken 71 47 32 217 17 
		
	
	
		
			 Stoke Heath 26 27 24 13 31 
			 Styal 43 55 31 34 34 
			 Sudbury 14 16 19 16 21 
			 Swaleside (Sheppey cluster) 162 163 199 10 218 
			 Swansea 33 26 15 17 19 
			 Swinfen Hall 44 47 55 6 49 
			 Thameside — — — — 155 
			 Thorn Cross 1 2 1 1 3 
			 Usk 13 18 14 14 19 
			 Verne 369 336 308 287 249 
			 Wakefield 55 69 67 62 64 
			 Wandsworth 473 555 497 560 448 
			 Warren Hill 13 14 17 9 17 
			 Wayland 128 119 37 32 22 
			 Wealstun 33 22 14 12 14 
			 Wellingborough 99 110 78 130 76 
			 Werrington 12 4 2 14 14 
			 Wetherby 8 8 9 10 17 
			 Whatton 77 62 44 40 37 
			 Whitemoor 61 73 99 111 105 
			 Winchester 53 58 65 52 50 
			 Wolds 22 12 10 8 10 
			 Woodhill 139 148 103 118 110 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 466 465 445 449 407 
			 Wymott 60 59 72 68 67 
			 Total 11,498 11,350 11,135 10,779 10,861 
			 (1) HMP Hewell was created by an amalgamation of the three former prisons, Blakenhurst, Brockhill and Hewell Grange on 25 June 2008; as of the 30 September 2011 the Brockhill site closed. (2) HMP and YOI Isis, which opened on 28 July 2010, is sited within the perimeter wall of HMP Belmarsh. (3) HMP Isle of Wight was created by an amalgamation of the three former prisons, Albany, Camp Hill and Parkhurst on 1 April 2009. (4) On 13 January 2011 the Secretary of State for Justice announced that HMP Morton Hall, will close (having previously been a female prison) and then re-open as an Immigration Removal Centre, holding immigration detainees on behalf of UKBA. On 16 May Morton Hall began operating as an Immigration Removal Centre. (5) HMP Northumberland is the new name for Acklington and Castington. (6) Peterborough is a dual purpose prison for men and women. Note: Detailed population breakdowns for 2008 and 2009 have been scaled and also rounded to the nearest whole number, therefore individual components may not sum to the totals. Data Sources and Quality: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table B: Foreign national prisoners by nationality, as of 30 June of each year, England and Wales 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Afghanistan 134 139 138 169 161 
			 Albania 173 166 154 157 188 
			 Algeria 198 158 175 144 154 
			 Angola 86 86 74 60 62 
			 Anguilla 1 1 2 — — 
			 Antigua and Barbuda — — 7 4 5 
			 Argentina 4 5 — 3 3 
			 Armenia 5 6 9 11 8 
			 Aruba 1 2 1 — — 
			 Australia 28 32 25 21 18 
		
	
	
		
			 Austria 17 14 15 13 13 
			 Azerbaijan 2 3 4 3 3 
			 Bahamas 4 3 1 3 5 
			 Bahrain 1 2 — — — 
			 Bangladesh 173 180 216 228 239 
			 Barbados 36 37 39 42 36 
			 Belgium 36 37 32 31 24 
			 Belize 1 1 1 — 2 
			 Benin 4 2 2 5 6 
			 Bermuda 3 5 2 1 7 
			 Bhutan 1 — — — — 
			 Bolivia 6 16 5 9 6 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina 14 8 18 12 12 
			 Botswana 3 2 3 2 1 
			 Brazil 75 81 65 50 56 
			 Bulgaria 41 46 43 60 50 
			 Burkina Faso — — — — 1 
			 Burma 5 — — — — 
			 Burundi 16 15 11 16 14 
			 Cambodia 1 — 1 — — 
			 Cameroon 42 38 30 27 24 
			 Canada 38 30 33 26 27 
			 Cayman Islands 1 — — 1 2 
			 Central African Republic 14 16 23 23 11 
			 Chad — — — 1 3 
			 Chile 9 7 8 18 13 
			 China 454 479 364 197 172 
			 Colombia 104 78 75 61 58 
			 Comoros and Mayotte 1 — — — — 
			 Congo 134 110 138 105 131 
			 Congo, Democratic Republic 40 21 1 — — 
			 Costa Rica 4 6 5 5 5 
			 Croatia 9 7 7 8 10 
			 Cuba 8 3 4 2 5 
			 Cyprus 45 35 28 27 26 
			 Czech Republic 53 82 83 73 93 
			 Denmark 6 13 9 12 12 
			 Djibouti — — — 1  
			 Dominica 8 6 15 14 17 
			 Dominican Republic 8 4 — — — 
			 Ecuador 13 10 7 12 15 
			 Egypt 20 23 20 23 22 
			 El Salvador 1 — — 1 1 
			 Equatorial Guinea 2 1 1 1 2 
			 Estonia 17 25 32 30 24 
			 Ethiopia 77 77 59 65 72 
			 Federation of St Christopher and Nevis 2 — — — — 
			 Fiji 11 10 6 4 5 
			 Finland 4 4 3 3 5 
			 France 159 157 149 132 110 
		
	
	
		
			 French Guiana 2 2 3 4 3 
			 French Southern Territories 1 1 — — — 
			 Gabon 1 2 1 1 — 
			 Gambia 42 52 58 57 54 
			 Georgia 18 17 9 12 8 
			 Germany 101 95 94 96 68 
			 Ghana 233 181 141 118 139 
			 Gibraltar 2 2 4 4 — 
			 Greece 21 23 15 9 18 
			 Grenada 15 15 17 16 8 
			 Guatemala 3 2 3 9 6 
			 Guinea 19 19 11 16 21 
			 Guinea/Bissau 1 2 1 — — 
			 Guyana 45 41 34 25 26 
			 Haiti 2 1 1 — 1 
			 Honduras 1 1 — 1 — 
			 Hong Kong 4 9 — — — 
			 Hungary 36 38 47 41 40 
			 Iceland — 1 — — — 
			 India 343 344 329 364 426 
			 Indonesia 1 2 1 — — 
			 Iran 207 208 197 212 214 
			 Iraq 283 284 234 183 202 
			 Irish Republic 657 627 681 736 737 
			 Israel 32 32 43 47 34 
			 Italy 77 73 94 93 89 
			 Ivory Coast 39 39 31 30 30 
			 Jamaica 1176 1,055 942 837 900 
			 Japan 1 1 1 1 5 
			 Jordan 5 7 4 6 3 
			 Kazakhstan 9 2 2 1 4 
			 Kenya 73 65 62 56 52 
			 Kiribati 2 1 1 1 1 
			 Korea, DPR (North Korea) 2  2 2 1 
			 Korea, Republic of 8 5 7 5 5 
			 Kuwait 12 7 9 9 10 
			 Kyrgyzstan 3 4 1 — 1 
			 Lao Peoples Democratic Republic — — — — 2 
			 Latvia 65 114 150 167 182 
			 Lebanon 25 11 16 16 13 
			 Lesotho — — — — 1 
			 Liberia 36 27 26 18 11 
			 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 19 16 24 24 17 
			 Lithuania 237 308 361 428 462 
			 Luxembourg 1 — — — 1 
			 Macedonia 11 9 6 4 7 
			 Madagascar 1 — — — — 
			 Malawi 15 13 17 17 14 
			 Malaysia 40 33 39 30 24 
			 Maldives — 1 — 1 — 
			 Mali — 4 2 1 2 
			 Malta 9 6 3 3 7 
		
	
	
		
			 Mauritania 2 4 5 2 6 
			 Mauritius 17 16 18 16 20 
			 Mexico 32 25 21 19 30 
			 Moldova 18 32 18 11 9 
			 Monaco 1 — 1 — 2 
			 Mongolia 6 6 5 2 4 
			 Montserrat 23 21 17 13 12 
			 Morocco 41 47 58 52 55 
			 Mozambique 6 3 4 5 1 
			 Myanmar — 4 3 2 1 
			 Namibia 3 3 7 7 6 
			 Nepal 3 2 10 12 8 
			 Netherlands 108 101 119 137 144 
			 Netherlands Antilles 6 8 7 5 — 
			 New Zealand 12 8 5 3 4 
			 Nicaragua — 1 1 1 2 
			 Niger 2 4 12 14 18 
			 Nigeria 1002 765 727 614 594 
			 Norway 7 6 7 4 5 
			 Oman 1 2 1 — — 
			 Pakistan 393 457 440 498 472 
			 Panama 2 1 1 1 — 
			 Paraguay 1  2 2 1 
			 Peru 4 5 5 3 2 
			 Philippines 21 26 24 19 22 
			 Poland 450 523 642 722 750 
			 Portugal 199 202 209 225 220 
			 Qatar — — 1 0 — 
			 Romania 193 327 380 473 541 
			 Russian Federation 93 89 108 99 65 
			 Rwanda 15 15 20 9 15 
			 Samoa — — 1 2 1 
			 San Marino 1 1 1 — — 
			 Saudi Arabia 9 15 12 12 11 
			 Senegal 7 7 5 5 5 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 96 77 28 32 32 
			 Seychelles 1 — 4 5 3 
			 Sierra Leone 89 76 72 70 69 
			 Singapore 7 6 6 4 3 
			 Slovakia 40 46 65 63 87 
			 Slovenia 7 6 4 1 2 
			 Somalia 445 441 433 417 410 
			 South Africa 184 151 137 114 90 
			 South Georgia 1 1 — — — 
			 Spain 64 60 66 84 84 
			 Sri Lanka 160 184 139 144 141 
			 St Kitts and Nevis — 2 3 3 5 
			 St Lucia 41 48 30 20 21 
			 St Vincent and the Grenadines 11 16 16 16 13 
			 Sudan 45 39 41 40 44 
			 Suriname 4 4 2 3 3 
			 Swaziland 1 — 1 — — 
			 Sweden 16 23 18 17 19 
			 Switzerland 2 6 5 6 5 
		
	
	
		
			 Syrian Arab Republic 8 8 11 7 19 
			 Taiwan (Nationalist Chinese) 2 2 5 2 3 
			 Tajikistan 1 — — — — 
			 Tanzania 13 15 27 20 26 
			 Thailand 14 13 10 7 8 
			 Togo 8 6 7 4 2 
			 Tongo 1 — 1 — — 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 75 61 56 57 55 
			 Tunisia 21 18 19 19 21 
			 Turkey 202 186 167 142 116 
			 Turkmenistan 2 1 1 1 2 
			 Uganda 96 79 67 65 58 
			 Ukraine — — — 32 29 
			 United Arab Emirates 11 5 1 1 2 
			 United States 106 107 90 84 60 
			 Uruguay 1 2 1 — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Uzbekistan 4 7 9 7 3 
			 Venezuela 11 12 18 16 16 
			 Vietnam 494 564 596 472 396 
			 Virgin Islands — 2 — — — 
			 Western Sahara 1 2 — 2 — 
			 Yemen, Republic of 12 13 10 10 10 
			 Zambia 18 11 15 18 24 
			 Zimbabwe 208 223 189 167 166 
			       
			 Other 6 5 1 1 0 
			       
			 Total 11,498 11,350 11,135 10,779 10,861 
			 Note: Detailed population breakdowns for 2008 and 2009 have been scaled and also rounded to the nearest whole number, therefore individual components may not sum to the totals. Data Sources and Quality: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table C: Foreign national prisoners, by offence group, as of 30 June of each year, England and Wales 
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			  Remand Immediate custodial sentence Remand Immediate custodial sentence Remand Immediate custodial sentence Remand Immediate custodial sentence Remand Immediate custodial sentence 
			 Violence against the person 493 1,494 481 1,643 475 1,710 508 1,741 399 1,821 
			 Sexual offences 229 818 272 926 280 1,015 259 1,034 224 1,063 
			 Robbery 146 641 168 593 213 641 186 702 216 731 
			 Burglary 121 276 143 256 123 292 116 286 145 372 
			 Theft and Handling 156 298 139 325 154 419 167 500 204 534 
			 Fraud and Forgery 362 1,092 332 977 259 606 202 447 127 434 
			 Drug offences 549 2,318 518 2,110 539 2,057 494 1,757 394 1,716 
			 Motoring offences 17 142 8 122 15 110 12 130 8 97 
			 Other offences 298 508 265 553 413 782 367 878 329 873 
			 Offence not recorded 18 25 23 94 28 74 51 40 27 38 
			 Data Sources and Quality: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Wales

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to his answer of 9 January 2013, Official Report, column 361W, on prisoners: Wales, how many of the 901 prisoners have as their first language (a) English, (b) Welsh and (c) another language.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost as it would be necessary to contact those prisons holding the 901 remand and sentenced prisoners with a home address in North Wales and check individual prisoner records.

Prisons: Construction

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what budget has been allocated for the building of a new prison in either North Wales, North West England or London; and for what year any such budget has been allocated;
	(2)  what sites in North Wales have been identified for consideration for construction of a new prison.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is currently undertaking feasibility work which will include an examination of operating and funding arrangements and determining in more detail the most appropriate location, role and size of a new prison. The cost of a new prison will be dependant on the outcome of this work.
	The Ministry of Justice will work with the relevant parties in the priority locations to identify potential sites once the feasibility work has been completed.

Prisons: Drugs

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to reduce (a) the availability of drugs in prison and (b) the number of prisoners who develop a drug addiction while in prison; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: NOMS has a comprehensive range of measures to tackle drugs. These include drug detection dogs, procedures to tackle visitors who seek to smuggle drugs and phones into prisons, and mobile phone detection technology. NOMS is also increasing the number of wings in prisons where prisoners can only stay if they remain abstinent from drugs. We are rolling out a networked IT intelligence system and providing prisons with short range mobile phone blockers which will help prisons prevent prisoners using mobile phones, which is often associated with drug supply.
	NOMS is working closely with the Department of Health and service providers to create integrated, recovery orientated and outcome focused substance misuse services.

Prisons: Security

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2012, Official Report, column 524W, on prisons: security, if he will list the instances of prisons requiring re-locking, providing the details of the (a) prison where the incident occurred, (b) category of prisoners affected, (c) cost of the re-locking per incident and whether this was paid for by his Department or a private provider, (d) how long each prison was in lock down as a result, (e) whether any prisoners were able to escape and (f) the outcome of any investigation into the reason why re-locking was required.

Jeremy Wright: The following table gives details of prisons that have needed to be relocked since 2010.
	
		
			 Prison Category of prisoner affected Cost of relocking (excluding VAT) (£) 
			 HMP Swaleside Category B 79,525 
			 HMYOI Glen Parva Young Offenders 173,608 
			 HMYOI Warren Hill Young Offenders 84,418 
			 HMP Birmingham Category B 415,276 
		
	
	The cost of relocking at HMP Birmingham was paid by the operator of the prison, G4S. The cost of relocking the remaining prisons was paid by the Ministry of Justice.
	None of the prisons were placed in lockdown following the incidents and there were no escapes at any of the prisons. Following these incidents vigilance at the prisons was increased regarding key security and events that may lead to a prison needing to be relocked.

Probation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many (a) assistant chief officers, (b) administrative and clerical staff, (c) probation officers and (d) probation services officers were employed by each probation trust in England and Wales in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12;
	(2)  how many (a) assistant chief officers, (b) administrative and clerical staff, (c) probation officers and (d) probation services officers were employed in the probation service in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12.

Jeremy Wright: Information on probation service staff in post by trust for 2010-11 and 2011-12 in England and Wales is contained in the following two tables:
	
		
			 Table 1: Probation service staff in post by trust—2010-11 (at 31 March 2011)(1) 
			 Probation trust Assistant chief officer Administrative and clerical staff(2) Probation officer(3) Probation services officer(4) Other staff(5) Total 
			 Avon and Somerset 8.90 81.50 155.60 160.20 62.00 468.20 
			 Bedfordshire 5.00 26.56 55.55 48.89 34.01 170.01 
			 Cambridgeshire 4.60 37.37 109.86 54.61 20.01 226.45 
			 Cheshire 6.80 73.59 116.12 90.28 42.55 329.34 
			 Cumbria 2.00 24.61 57.90 37.30 36.21 158.02 
			 Derbyshire 4.00 49.40 109.30 113.50 35.30 311.50 
			 Devon and Cornwall 4.00 64.00 171.35 80.19 78.18 397.72 
			 Dorset 3.00 31.10 66.70 72.00 31.30 204.10 
			 Durham Tees Valley 8.37 78.29 219.30 163.28 55.71 524.95 
			 Essex 8.00 113.46 104.90 202.86 36.99 466.21 
			 Gloucestershire 1.85 35.77 48.53 28.55 29.93 144.63 
			 Greater Manchester 16.00 262.91 440.46 224.48 178.79 1,122.64 
			 Hampshire(6) 0.00 117.51 188.41 164.49 51.89 522.30 
			 Hertfordshire 5.00 37.34 78.68 84.26 25.50 230.78 
			 Humberside 3.00 87.88 149.40 106.18 42.16 388.62 
			 Kent 4.40 83.44 138.48 1 03.02 82.44 411.78 
			 Lancashire 6.00 92.27 221.21 112.05 90.83 522.36 
			 Leicestershire 7.60 74.32 148.74 170.92 39.42 441.00 
		
	
	
		
			 Lincolnshire 5.00 50.21 68.63 63.49 27.13 214.46 
			 London 44.00 415.22 1,006.01 367.24 762.93 2,595.40 
			 Merseyside 8.00 126.35 261.13 192.53 66.99 655.00 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk 6.75 83.71 169.51 149.24 53.18 462.39 
			 North Yorkshire 4.00 48.20 79.65 59.13 21.30 212.28 
			 Northamptonshire 3.00 45.30 86.16 90.39 7.00 231.85 
			 Northumbria 11.91 121.38 228.33 168.19 56.60 586.41 
			 Nottinghamshire 6.03 107.02 168.23 115.91 126.51 523.70 
			 South Yorkshire 11.99 65.79 248.26 171.46 40.88 538.38 
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands 18.11 462.47 561.00 470.09 217.41 1,729.08 
			 Surrey and Sussex 7.30 70.27 202.35 100.00 196.10 576.02 
			 Thames Valley 5.00 101.17 207.98 199.96 66.42 580.53 
			 Wales 13.00 214.98 369.16 304.74 168.17 1,070.05 
			 Warwickshire 4.00 17.69 59.52 41.46 31.05 153.72 
			 West Mercia 4.00 70.23 118.97 93.39 41.95 328.54 
			 West Yorkshire 7.00 268.21 326.67 306.50 91.02 999.40 
			 Wiltshire 3.49 35.54 52.45 27.06 38.96 157.50 
			 Probation service 261.10 3,675.06 6,794.50 4,937.84 2,986.82 18,655.32 
			 (1) The figures provided are a snapshot of permanent staff in post on 31 March 2011. (2 )Includes case administrators. (3) Includes senior probation officers, practice development assessors, probation officers and senior practitioners. (4) Includes treatment managers. (5) Includes chief executives, deputy chief executives, area/district managers, middle managers, other operational staff, psychologists, other support staff, trainee probation officers and other staff. (6) Hampshire Probation Trust classify all assistant chief officers as deputy chief officers; 5.60 FTE staff have therefore been included within the ‘Other staff’ category in the table for Hampshire. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Probation service staff in post by trust—2011-12 (at 31 March 2012)(1) 
			 Probation trust Assistant chief officer Administrative and clerical staff(2) Probation officer(3) Probation services officer(4) Other staff(5) Total 
			 Avon and Somerset 8.20 93.20 149.40 178.90 59.60 489.30 
			 Bedfordshire 5.00 36.34 56.36 44.91 36.50 179.11 
			 Cambridgeshire 5.00 33.59 98.08 50.60 20.11 207.38 
			 Cheshire 5.80 78.59 117.26 79.05 41.32 322.02 
			 Cumbria 3.00 21.50 52.00 41.31 37.63 155.44 
			 Derbyshire 5.00 57.47 109.48 101.43 44.92 318.30 
			 Devon and Cornwall 4.80 71.48 128.75 111.60 79.67 396.30 
			 Dorset 5.00 30.90 59.50 65.80 28.10 189.30 
			 Durham Tees Valley 8.46 76.09 213.87 162.28 58.88 519.58 
			 Essex 9.00 121.86 98.10 194.74 38.29 461.99 
			 Gloucestershire 1.85 37.50 46.96 26.85 31.48 144.64 
			 Greater Manchester 13.00 266.35 413.88 227.62 127.34 1,048.19 
			 Hampshire(6) 0.00 115.17 186.45 163.70 49.95 515.27 
			 Hertfordshire 5.00 46.25 70.68 77.32 27.23 226.48 
			 Humberside 3.00 81.98 139.17 93.34 39.68 357.17 
			 Kent 5.40 86.10 140.51 139.53 48.61 420.15 
			 Lancashire 10.00 89.98 211.25 125.72 85.30 522.25 
			 Leicestershire 7.61 81.73 133.49 172.63 32.94 428.40 
			 Lincolnshire 5.01 46.41 58.92 60.87 25.14 196.35 
			 London 46.80 438.76 979.44 299.53 717.88 2,482.41 
			 Merseyside 9.00 127.90 254.34 199.13 64.67 655.04 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk 6.00 103.82 171.87 141.65 23.81 447.15 
			 North Yorkshire 5.00 40.94 73.84 57.38 20.56 197.72 
			 Northamptonshire 3.00 45.36 85.01 92.59 6.68 232.64 
			 Northumbria 9.92 118.41 219.88 171.73 53.24 573.18 
			 Nottinghamshire 5.00 107.80 153.29 110.19 126.73 503.01 
			 South Yorkshire 9.80 65.31 233.04 166.05 38.28 512.48 
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands 18.22 433.41 536.11 442.76 188.74 1,619.24 
			 Surrey and Sussex 8.00 82.54 198.75 111.60 194.26 595.15 
			 Thames Valley 5.00 109.41 201.49 201.96 64.37 582.23 
			 Wales 12.41 137.26 357.29 252.05 234.14 993.15 
		
	
	
		
			 Warwickshire 3.00 17.43 51.11 40.95 28.98 141.47 
			 West Mercia 5.00 61.78 109.10 80.37 41.12 297.37 
			 West Yorkshire 4.44 248.30 310.04 270.00 88.52 921.30 
			 Wiltshire 3.29 34.40 51.35 29.45 30.63 149.12 
			 Probation service 264.01 3,645.32 6,470.06 4,785.59 2,835.30 18,000.28 
			 (1) The figures provided are a snapshot of permanent staff in post on 31 March 2012. (2) Includes case administrators. (3) Includes senior probation officers, practice development assessors, probation officers and senior practitioners. (4 )Includes treatment managers. (5) Includes chief executives, deputy chief executives, area/district managers, middle managers, other operational staff, psychologists, other support staff, trainee probation officers and other staff. (6) Hampshire Probation Trust classify all assistant chief officers as deputy chief officers; 5.60 FTE staff have therefore been included within the ‘Other staff’ category in the table for Hampshire.

Probation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total caseloads of each probation trust in England and Wales were in each year since the introduction of the trusts.

Jeremy Wright: The total caseload of offenders supervised by each probation trust since the introduction of the current 35 trusts in England and Wales are provided in the following table for 2010 and 2011 (as at 31 December).
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Total number of offenders supervised by the Probation Service, by Trust, as at 31 December, England and Wales 
			 Trust 2010 2011 
			 Avon and Somerset 5,748 5,853 
			 Bedfordshire 2,407 2,453 
			 Cambridgeshire 3,069 2,914 
			 Cheshire 3,652 3,443 
			 Durham Tees Valley 6,952 6,722 
			 Cumbria 1,912 1,884 
			 Derbyshire 3,831 3,926 
			 Devon and Cornwall 4,005 4,054 
			 Dorset 1,959 1,809 
			 Essex 6,407 5,958 
			 Gloucestershire 1,771 1,741 
			 Hampshire 6,345 6,083 
			 West Mercia 3,662 3,610 
			 Hertfordshire 3,666 3,640 
			 Humberside 4,307 4,432 
			 Kent 6,092 6,420 
			 Lancashire 7,515 7,524 
			 Leicestershire 3,738 3,823 
			 Lincolnshire 2,176 2,156 
			 Greater Manchester 16,307 16,066 
			 Merseyside 8,312 7,949 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk 4,643 4,505 
			 Northamptonshire 2,935 3,026 
			 Northumbria 6,980 6,882 
			 Nottinghamshire 5,443 5,331 
			 Thames Valley 6,694 6,516 
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands 20,700 20,483 
			 Surrey and Sussex 7,622 7,033 
			 Warwickshire 1,750 1,603 
			 Wiltshire 1,637 1,502 
			 North Yorkshire 2,241 2,243 
			 South Yorkshire 6,744 6,635 
			 West Yorkshire 12,477 11,682 
			 Wales 14,529 14,486 
			 London 40,745 40,141

Publications

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how often his Department produces a staff magazine.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice does not produce any staff magazines in hard copy. The production of MOJ staff magazine ‘Insight’ ceased in July 2012.

Reoffenders

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the reoffending rate was amongst people who are (a) White British, (b) Black Caribbean, (c) Black African, (d) Pakistani origin, (e) Indian origin, (f) Bangladeshi origin and (g) other in each year from 1 April 1997 to 1 April 2012;
	(2)  what the 12-month reoffending rates for each probation trust in England and Wales were in each year since the introduction of the trusts.

Jeremy Wright: These questions have been answered using the Ministry of Justice's published proven reoffending statistics for England and Wales. These statistics are published on a quarterly basis and the latest bulletin, for the period January to December 2010, was published on 25 October 2012.
	Table 1 shows the one year proven reoffending rates in each year from 2000, 2002-2010, by ethnic group as recorded on the Police National Computer (PNC). Ethnicity data recorded on the PNC reflect the officer's view of the offender's ethnicity, and cannot be provided exactly as requested in the question. 2000 is the earliest year for which proven reoffending data exist on a comparable basis and data are not available for 2001 due to a problem with archived data on court orders. Data for 2011 will be published on 31 October 2013.
	Table 2 shows the number of adult offenders in England and Wales starting a court order, by probation trust, in each year from 2008 to 2010; and the proportion that committed a proven re-offence within a one-year follow-up period (i.e. the one year proven reoffending rate).
	The first six probation trusts were established from 1 April 2008 and a further two were established from 1 April 2009 under powers of the Offender Management Act 2007. On 1 April 2010, 27 new probation trusts were established resulting in all 42 former probation boards having been replaced by 35 probation trusts.
	A proven re-offence is defined as any offence committed in a one-year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one-year follow-up. Following this one-year period, a further six-month waiting period is allowed for cases to progress through the courts.
	Please note that proven reoffending statistics are available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
	www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending
	
		
			 Table 1: Adult and juvenile proven reoffending data, by ethnicity, 2000, 2002 to 2010(1) 
			 Ethnicity 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 White           
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) 28.8 29.8 29.4 28.2 27.8 27.7 27.4 27.6 26.9 27.4 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 532,421 535,312 554,121 555,395 578,147 610,632 633,736 609,851 576,462 533,994 
			            
			 Black           
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) 32.0 32.3 31.7 31.2 31.6 31.2 30.9 30.1 29.3 29.8 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 35,920 43,377 47,027 47,835 50,658 55,652 58,866 60,270 58,557 55,377 
			            
			 Asian           
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) 22.3 24.3 23.1 22.2 22.8 22.7 22.4 21.8 21.5 21.4 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 23,357 27,526 29,053 29,298 31,645 34,898 36,887 38,289 37,260 35,669 
			            
			 Other           
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) 20.0 20.3 19.9 19.5 20.5 20.4 20.5 18.7 18.4 18.2 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 3,745 4,822 5,988 6,522 7,109 7,399 7,442 8,074 8,312 8,217 
			            
			 Not recorded           
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) 6.5 7.1 7.3 7.5 7.0 6.5 6.8 8.9 8.6 9.0 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 21,581 21,028 22,850 23,002 28,031 33,938 29,543 19,043 16,771 15,565 
			            
			 All offenders           
			 Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) 27.9 28.9 28.4 27.3 27.0 26.7 26.5 26.9 26.3 26.7 
			 Number of offenders in cohort(2) 617,024 632,065 659,039 662,052 695,590 742,519 766,474 735,527 697,362 648,822 
			 (1) Data are not available for 2001 due to a problem with archived data. (2) This does not represent all offenders—offenders who were released from custody or commenced a court order are matched to the police national computer database and a certain proportion of these offenders that cannot be matched are excluded from the offender cohort. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Adult proven reoffending data, by probation trust based on first commencement from each trust, 2008-10 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			  Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) Number of offenders in cohort(1) Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) Number of offenders in cohort(1) Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%) Number of offenders in cohort(1) 
			 Avon and Somerset 36.7 3,037 35.2 3,330 34.7 3,431 
			 Bedfordshire 29.4 1,347 28.2 1,414 28.4 1,392 
			 Cambridgeshire 35.8 1,910 35.4 1,832 35.1 1,974 
			 Cheshire 32.0 2,663 31.0 2,722 30.3 2,633 
			 Cumbria 39.0 1,617 36.5 1,432 35.4 1,437 
			 Derbyshire 29.7 2,888 28.6 2,815 29.1 2,634 
			 Devon and Cornwall 34.8 2,645 33.8 2,666 33.4 2,580 
			 Dorset 32.7 1,430 34.5 1,428 31.8 1,329 
			 Durham and Tees Valley 42.9 4,675 41.8 4,722 44.7 4,640 
			 Essex 33.0 3,759 31.3 4,070 32.7 3,922 
			 Gloucestershire 42.1 1,261 38.3 1,209 32.1 1,101 
			 Greater Manchester 34.8 9,240 33.8 9,458 33.4 9,993 
			 Hampshire 34.8 4,680 34.7 4,428 34.6 4,693 
			 Hertfordshire 33.9 2,282 34.0 2,256 32.3 2,364 
			 Humberside 37.7 2,807 36.9 2,895 33.6 2,930 
			 Kent 34.0 3,671 33.7 3,843 33.4 3,756 
			 Lancashire 38.6 4,826 38.9 4,866 39.0 5,007 
			 Leicestershire 29.7 2,621 29.8 2,434 30.8 2,426 
			 Lincolnshire 37.1 1,446 32.1 1,412 33.9 1,444 
			 London 34.9 18,454 34.0 19,480 33.4 18,769 
			 Merseyside 35.9 4,819 34.8 4,700 35.3 4,463 
			 Norfolk and Suffolk 36.1 3,248 36.1 3,321 35.4 3,260 
			 North Yorkshire 39.4 1,752 35.6 1,951 37.9 1,816 
			 Northamptonshire 33.6 1,619 30.7 1,603 29.2 1,742 
			 Northumbria 46.0 4,748 43.7 4,987 43.7 4,711 
			 Nottinghamshire 36.3 3,531 36.0 3,578 36.2 3,679 
			 South Yorkshire 36.6 4,453 34.9 4,601 35.4 4,548 
			 Staffordshire and West Midlands 34.3 11,458 30.3 11,878 29.2 11,101 
			 Surrey and Sussex 32.3 4,814 32.9 5,034 31.6 4,857 
			 Thames Valley 35.1 4,086 33.8 3,722 32.9 3,984 
			 Wales 36.8 9,361 37.0 9,594 35.9 9,666 
			 Warwickshire 35.4 1,054 30.2 1,201 26.6 1,071 
			 West Mercia 36.7 2,403 34.0 2,641 36.7 2,390 
			 West Yorkshire 38.3 6,966 35.0 7,604 34.8 7,767 
			 Wiltshire 34.4 1,140 34.2 1,142 33.3 1,123 
			 Unknown/More than one 34.0 1,531 34.6 1,652 31.5 1,349 
			 (1)This does not represent all offenders—offenders who commenced a court order are matched to the police national computer database and a certain proportion of these offenders that cannot be matched are excluded from the offender cohort.

Wales

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what visits (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have made to North Wales since May 2010.

Jeremy Wright: To date, there have been no visits to North Wales by Ministry of Justice Ministers since May 2010. However, the ministerial team is keen to visit all regions of the country and one of the team would be happy to visit in due course.

Written Questions

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's average response time to parliamentary questions has been since May 2010.

Helen Grant: The Government is committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written PQ performance on a sessional basis and will provide foil information relating to the 2012-13 Session to the Committee at the end of the current Session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 Parliamentary Session (25 May 2012-1 May 2012) are available on the Parliament website as follows:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_Monitoring_PQs.pdf
	Data from the current Session 9 May 2012 to 18 December 2012 can be found in the following table broken down by written PQs and named day PQs. These figures have been obtained from a central database.
	
		
			  Commons written parliamentary questions 
			 Total number tabled and processed by Department 1,025 
			 Number answered within five sitting days 935 
		
	
	
		
			 Number answered between six and 10 days 25 
			 Number answered later than 10 sitting days 51 
			 Currently unanswered 14 
		
	
	
		
			  Named day written parliamentary questions 
			 Total number tabled and processed by Department 502 
			 Number answered in time 382 
			 Number answered out of time 114 
			 Currently unanswered 6

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Bellwin Scheme

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have claimed funding under the Bellwin scheme as a result of flooding in 2012-13 to date.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 17 December 2012
	To date, in 2012-13, eight local authorities have submitted claims under Bellwin schemes activated for flood related incidents. Of these, three reported eligible costs above their Bellwin threshold and have been paid. Eligible costs below threshold may be taken into account for a future Bellwin scheme falling in the same financial year.
	
		
			 Bellwin flood related claims 2012-13 
			 Local authorities Claims submitted Claims submitted exceeding threshold 
			 Calderdale Yes Yes 
			 Gateshead Yes Yes 
			 Herefordshire Yes Yes 
			 Dorset Yes — 
			 Durham Yes — 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne Yes — 
			 North Tyneside Yes — 
			 South Tyneside Yes — 
		
	
	Bellwin provides emergency financial assistance to local authorities, to help them
	meet uninsurable costs they incur when responding to a major emergency in their area. It is limited by statute (section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989) to:
	“costs of immediate action to safeguard life or property or prevent suffering or severe inconvenience to inhabitants.”

Charities: Finance

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he has issued to local authorities on funding for charities.

Don Foster: Local spending decisions are a matter for local councils. They are best placed to consider the needs of their communities, and to determine the appropriate levels of funding for all types of spending.
	In September 2011 the Department issued the Best Value guidance which clearly sets out the way that councils should work with the voluntary sector when facing difficult funding decisions. Local authorities should seek to avoid passing on disproportionate cuts and in particular:
	Where an authority intends to reduce or end funding or other support, that at least three months notice, of the actual reduction, should be given;
	Actively engage the organisation on both the future of the service and on any knock-on effect on assets; and
	Allow the organisation and community to put forward options on how to reshape the service.
	Good local authorities will be working with their local voluntary and community sector to make best use of their ability to deliver effective and innovative local services that people want.

Charities: Finance

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effect of local government spending reductions on charities.

Don Foster: We have made no such assessment. Local spending decisions are a matter for local councils. Good local authorities will be working with their local voluntary and community sector to make best use of their ability to deliver effective and innovative local services that people want.
	In order to tackle the deficit left by the last Administration, we know that local authorities are faced with difficult decisions, which is why, in September 2011, this Department published the Best Value guidance which provides clear guidance as to the way they should work with the voluntary sector when facing those decisions.
	The Government is committed to creating greater opportunities for the sector through opening up public services and supporting more intelligent commissioning through initiatives like the Social Value Act and the new Commissioning Academy. And the Community Rights contained in the Localism Act are also providing greater prospects for local communities and organisations to transform and shape their own local places and services. Figures from the Charity Commission indicate that total annual income of registered charities has continued to grow from £51.74 billion reported in 2009 to £58.48 billion reported now (at 31 December 2012), an increase of 13%.

Civil Disorder: Croydon

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) funding and (b) other support his Department offered to businesses, communities and other affected parties in Croydon North constituency following the public disorder of August 2011; and what such support and funding has been provided.

Brandon Lewis: My Department has given substantial support to Croydon specifically to assist the area following the public disorder of August 2011:
	£10 million from the London Enterprise Fund was paid to the Greater London Authority exclusively to assist with the medium-term regeneration of Croydon. As the Greater London Authority and the council were, and are, best placed to decide on the local priorities for supporting businesses and the wider community, decisions as to how to spend this funding have been a matter for the Greater London Authority in partnership with Croydon borough council. Final investment decisions on the usage of the London Enterprise Fund rest with the authority.
	Croydon borough council also received £993,749 under the post-riots Recovery Scheme and around £1,377,000 under the High Street Support Scheme. Croydon claimed under each 3 elements of the scheme: £131,000 for Business Hardship Relief, £250,000 for support to individual businesses and £996,000 for wider support to groups of businesses including promotional and marketing activity.
	This funding has been provided either on a Croydon-wide basis or for specific projects or businesses and as such cannot be broken down by the Croydon North constituency.

Council Tax: Nottingham

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of additional households in (a) Nottingham East constituency and (b) Nottingham City who will pay council tax in 2013-14 as a result of planned changes to council tax benefit.

Brandon Lewis: Under the new localised system, this is a matter for local authorities and the local policy they adopt; no central estimate or target has been made for Nottingham.
	More broadly our reforms will give councils stronger incentives to support local firms, cut fraud, promote local enterprise and get people back into work. They will also contribute to the Government's deficit reduction programme. Welfare reform is vital to tackle the budget deficit we have inherited from the last Administration, under which council tax benefit expenditure doubled.

Derelict Land

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to support local authority planning departments to encourage the reuse of previously developed land.

Nicholas Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that planning should encourage the effective use of land by re-using brownfield land provided that it is not of high environmental value, and that local councils can set locally appropriate targets for using brownfield land.
	However as brownfield land may be valuable environmentally or as a community asset we have not set a blanket target or priority on brownfield development. The previous Administration's target for development on brownfield land and for residential density helped push dwelling sizes down and prices up, which lead to unpopular development some of which was in back gardens. Local councils in conjunction with their communities are best placed to determine the appropriateness of any development in their areas.
	We also are taking forward an innovative and wide ranging package of policies to encourage the effective use of brownfield land and redundant buildings. This includes making it easier to change the use of an existing building from commercial to residential.
	The New Homes Bonus provides an incentive for communities to grow, and also to tackle empty homes. For its second year of operation alone, this rewards a total increase in the effective housing stock of 159,000 dwellings (22,000 of which are empty homes brought back into use).
	We have also committed £160 million specifically to bringing over 11,000 empty homes back into use, £100 million of which is to bring empty homes back into use as affordable housing.
	Our new community right to reclaim land which will help communities to improve their local area by making information about land owned by public bodies more easily available. It will also help to ensure that underused or unused land owned by public bodies and some other organisations is brought back into beneficial use.
	Rapid progress has been made to free up underused or surplus public land, and we have identified land with the capacity for over 102,000 homes. To get development moving, we will be looking to extend the use of build now, pay later models—meaning developers do not have to find the money upfront for the land but can pay as the development gets under way, or homes are sold. This will help tackle cash flow problems which can act as a barrier to house building.
	In response to emerging conclusions from a review chaired by Tony Pidgley, chairman of the Berkeley Group, the Government will accelerate the release of surplus public sector land by strengthening the role of Homes and Communities Agency outside London through a targeted programme of transfers from other Government Departments and agencies.
	We will also work to accelerate disposals by preparing the land for market and providing a single “shop window” for all surplus public sector land. We will work with the Mayor of London with a view to developing a similar approach in London, and to resolve how other measures are delivered for the benefit of Londoners.
	My Department is also supporting the Olympic legacy, driving renewal and regeneration in east London, replacing over 740 acres of polluted, low-grade industrial land and premises with new sports and community facilities, parks, homes, shops and transport infrastructure.

Derelict Land

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to encourage a more imaginative and creative approach to developing brownfield sites for residential purposes.

Nicholas Boles: I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for City of Chester (Stephen Mosley) (PQ 136276) answered today.

Homelessness: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of homeless young people in Ashfield constituency in each year from 2007 to date.

Mark Prisk: The following table shows both the number of homelessness acceptances of households where the applicant is aged 16-24 and the number of applicants who are considered to be in priority need because they are aged 16-17 or 18-20 and formerly in care:
	
		
			 Homeless young people in Ashfield 
			   (b) Homelessness acceptances for priority need categories relating to young people 
			  (a) Homelessness acceptances with applicant aged 16 to 24 (i) Applicant 16 or 17yearsold (ii) Applicant formerly in care and 18 to 20yearsold 
			 2007 11 0 0 
			 2008 12 0 0 
			 2009 15 0 0 
			 2010 10 0 0 
			 2011 5 1 0 
			 2012 (to 30 September) 8 1 0 
			 Total 61 2 0 
			 Note: Figures from category (a) above cannot be added to those from category (b) to give an overall total because they are the results of breaking down the same total number of homelessness acceptances. Source: P1E returns from local authorities. 
		
	
	A robust homelessness safety net remains in place for young homeless people. Local authorities have a statutory duty to house 16 and 17-year-olds, care leavers under the age of 21, and people over 21 who are vulnerable as a result of being in care.
	The Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness published their second report in August 2012, which stresses the importance of supporting vulnerable young people to make a successful transition to adulthood. It champions a model of a 'positive youth accommodation pathway' for those who cannot stay within the family network or are leaving care. The report can be obtained from the Department's website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-every-contact-count-a-joint-approach-to-preventing-homelessness
	We secured an additional £70 million last year to help local agencies prevent and tackle rough sleeping, single homelessness and repossessions. This is on top of the £400 million we are investing for homelessness prevention over four years (2011-12 to 2014-15) which includes £10.8 million to help single people access private rented sector accommodation.

Homelessness: Tower Hamlets

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many children are homeless in (a) Tower Hamlets and (b) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to address child homelessness in (a) Tower Hamlets and (b) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency.

Mark Prisk: As at 30 September 2012, 3,540 dependent or expected children were in temporary accommodation as members of households accommodated by the London borough of Tower Hamlets. This compares with comparative figures of 5,084 in September 2008 and 4,026 in September 20,09. This includes households placed by the authority in accommodation within another local authority area, for which separate figures are not collected.
	Looked at another way, of the 144 households accepted as owed the main homelessness duty in Tower Hamlets between 1 July and 30 September 2012, 101 included at least one dependent child. This compares with 139 households with at least one dependent child in September 2008 and 103 in September 2009.
	The Department does not collect corresponding figures to those above for individual parliamentary constituencies, except where they happen to be co-terminus with the area of a local authority. This is not the case for the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, and so figures for the constituency are not available.
	We are investing £400 million in homelessness prevention over four years (2011-12 to 2014-15). On top of that we announced an additional £70 million last year to tackle single homelessness and prevent repossessions.
	On 4 December, I held a roundtable meeting with 18 London local authorities with high homelessness numbers (including families with children in temporary accommodation) to discuss the issues involved and action they are taking to resolve them. Tower Hamlets were represented at the meeting.

Non-domestic Rates: Environment Protection

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the publication in draft of the Non-Domestic Rating (Renewable Energy Projects) Regulations 2012 on 25 October 2012, whether he plans to make an announcement on non-domestic rating for other forms of low carbon technology.

Brandon Lewis: Following the introduction of business rates retention in April 2013, local authorities will be able to benefit from the non-domestic rates paid by all forms of low carbon technology.

Non-domestic Rates: Environment Protection

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to introduce business rate retention measures for (a) new nuclear projects and (b) other forms of low carbon energy projects.

Brandon Lewis: The Government has confirmed that it will introduce business rates retention from April 2013. From that date, local authorities will be able to benefit from growth in business rates income, including from new nuclear projects and other forms of low carbon energy projects.

Planning Permission

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the compliance of local authorities with the Construction and Design Management Regulations 2007 in respect of the appointment of a principal contractor for projects where the local authority is also the local planning authority; and if he will make a statement.

Nicholas Boles: holding answer 15 January 2013
	DCLG has made no such assessment. General compliance with the Construction and Design Management Regulations 2007 is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive.

Property Development: Birmingham

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Birmingham Development Plan, what steps he has taken to ensure that the effect of new communities on local infrastructure will be assessed in the consideration of any application for development.

Nicholas Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework reinforces the role of plans as the primary basis for identifying what development is needed in an area, deciding where it should go and dealing with planning applications.
	Local planning authorities should ensure that Local Plans are based on adequate, up-to-date and relevant evidence about the characteristics and prospects of its area. As part of this an authority must show that it will have the infrastructure in place to deliver the policies within its plan.
	Before a Local Plan can be adopted it must be subject to examination and deemed to have been found sound by an independent inspector at the Planning Inspectorate. A local planning authority must demonstrate that its plan is founded on a credible evidence base, taken into account views of the local community and other interested parties, is legally compliant and had regard to national policy.
	The consultation on the pre publication draft of the Birmingham Development Plan(1) ended on 14 January 2013. The City Council expect to consult on the final version of the plan, prior to its submission to the Planning Inspectorate for examination, later in 2013.
	(1)Note:
	http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/plan2031

Publications

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how often his Department produces a staff magazine.

Brandon Lewis: My Department does not produce a staff magazine.

Social Rented Housing

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) shared equity or shared ownership and (b) other intermediate market homes have been built by (i) registered social landlords and (ii) other housing providers in each of the last 10 years; and what information his Department holds on the number of these properties successfully resold to new occupants since they were first occupied.

Mark Prisk: Statistics on additional intermediate affordable housing provided are published in the Department's live tables 1000 and 1010, which are available at the following link.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-affordable-housing-supply
	These figures include both newly built housing, which accounts for around 68% of additional intermediate affordable housing over the last ten years, and acquisitions from the private sector.
	Information about resale of shared ownership housing by private registered providers is collected in CORE (the Continuous Recording of Lettings and Sales of Social Housing in England) for some shared ownerships schemes. Between 2002-03 and 2011-12, the most recent year for which data is available, there were approximately 22,000 re-sales of Shared Ownership, New Build HomeBuy, Social Homebuy for shared ownership, Home Ownership for people with Long Term Disability and similar schemes for earlier years. Some of these re-sales may be the same property being re-sold on more than one occasion. This is approximately 28% of the total sales recorded in CORE for these schemes over this period.

Temporary Accommodation: West Midlands

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many children have been registered as living in temporary accommodation in each local authority area in the west midlands since 2005.

Mark Prisk: A table has been placed in the Library of the House, showing the number of children living in temporary accommodation in each local authority area in the west midlands on 31 March every year since 2005.
	We are determined to tackle this problem. So, from 9 November, local authorities have new powers under the Localism Act to use good-quality private rented sector accommodation to end the main homelessness duty. Families will no longer need to be placed in temporary accommodation while they wait for social housing to become available.
	At the same time, we have also put in place extra protection for the most vulnerable. The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2012 will help prevent the use of temporary accommodation which is long distances from the families’ previous home and community.
	For households already in temporary accommodation the local authority has a duty (under section 193 of the Housing Act) to find that family settled accommodation. Local authorities should continue to work with these households to discuss alternative housing options as they become available.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to prevent frequent applications for planning permission for the use of the land for wind farms following initial rejection of the application for the use of that land for this purpose.

Nicholas Boles: holding answer 14 January 2013
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him on 11 June 2012, Official Report, column 20W. Local planning authorities have powers to decline to determine planning applications if they have previously refused permission for two or more substantially similar proposals on the same site, or if a substantially similar proposal has been rejected on appeal within the past two years. The decision as to whether an application is
	'the same or substantially the same'
	is for the local planning authority. I have recently underlined that local planning authorities should use their local plans to help shape where development should and should not take place.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities when her Department plans to respond to letters from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay of (a) 18 September, (b) 17 October, (c) 5 November and (d) 26 November 2012 regarding a constituent, Mr Colin Taylor.

Helen Grant: holding answer 16 January 2013
	I wrote to my hon. Friend on 15 January 2013.

HEALTH

Aviation

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many air miles were accumulated by each Minister in his Department in 2012; how such air miles were used; and whether such air miles were donated to charity.

Daniel Poulter: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The latest statement received by Star Alliance (who provide an online incentive programme for corporate customers of airlines) shows that the Department as a whole, for all Ministers and officials travelling on Departmental business, had 56,475 PlusPoints available.
	Air miles and any other benefits accrued through travel paid for from public funds are used for official purposes or else foregone, in line with the Ministerial Code. It is the intention of the Department that, as a matter of routine, current and future departmental air miles will be used to offset its corporate carbon emissions.

Cancer

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what safeguards he has put in place to prevent the loss of expertise and knowledge of cancer services staff during the transition to strategy clinical networks.

Norman Lamb: The essence of clinical networks is the web of relationships between individual clinicians. Clinicians are mostly unaffected by the changes in NHS commissioning architecture and will provide a key point of continuity through the transition process.
	All primary care trusts have developed comprehensive legacy documents and network activities are included in these. It will be the role of the lead managers for strategic clinical networks in each of the 12 network support teams to ensure that the transition is well managed at a local level. Good progress is being made with the establishment of these teams and the majority of the lead manager posts, as well as network manager, improvement manager and associated support posts, have been filled by existing network staff.

Carers

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on bringing forward legislative proposals to provide support to carers of disabled children similar to that which would be provided for adults under the draft Care and Support Bill.

Norman Lamb: There have been no meetings between the Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), and the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), but Ministers have met to discuss issues relating to carers and disabled children among other issues. In addition, departmental officials are in regular discussions with their counterparts at the Department for Education, about the proposed legislation.
	The draft Care and Support Bill proposals include significant improvements to simplify adult carers' assessments and, for the first time, to place a duty on local authorities to meet adult carers' eligible needs for support, putting them on the same footing as the people they care for. There is no parallel duty in the draft Children and Families Bill, as support for parents and carers of disabled children is already an integral part of the social care assessment for disabled children under section 17 of the Children Act. Section 17 assessments will consider and agree services and support for parents and carers where these will help to deliver better outcomes for the child.
	The draft Care and Support Bill however, includes new provisions to support better transition to adult social care for young people, young carers and parent carers, including protections to ensure no gap in services over transition.

Consultants

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on external consultancy since 2010.

Daniel Poulter: Total consultancy spend by the core Department and Connecting for Health for financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 are set out in the following table, together with those for the previous two years. The figures are based on the definition of consultancy services provided by Cabinet Office Government Procurement (formerly the office of Government Commerce).
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 
			 Core Department 3 10 108 102 
			 Connecting for Health 12 5 7 5 
			 Total 15 15 115 107 
			 Source: Financial year data 2008-09 to 2011-12 taken from NHS Summarised Accounts 
		
	
	2012-13 consultancy figures will not be available until the Department of Health summarised annual accounts are published later in 2013.
	This Government is determined to use management consultants if and only if they can add real value and where no other alternative exists, which ensures taxpayers' money is spent wisely.

Data Protection

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions each Minister in his Department carried classified documents on public transport in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not record this information.

Epilepsy

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to improve the early diagnosis and treatment of people with epilepsy in England; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to reduce the stigma attached to those diagnosed with epilepsy; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: Long-term conditions is one of the Secretary of State for Health's priority areas and this was reflected in the prominence with which it featured in the mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board, which sets out the Government's objectives for the national health service and highlights the areas of health and care where it expects to see improvements.
	The mandate contains a clear objective on enhancing the quality of life of people with long-term conditions by helping them to live healthier, for longer with a better quality of life.
	Quality Standards published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) support better outcomes for patients by promoting improvement in the quality of care. We have referred to NICE the development of quality standards for children and adults with epilepsy. These quality standards, which are expected to be published in February and March 2013 respectively, will help drive improvements in the diagnosis, care and treatment of this condition.
	The Department understands the importance of providing the best possible information to people with epilepsy as improved access to information and education helps to promote better care, and particularly better self-care. Such information can also be used to help promote understanding and tolerance and combat the prejudice that people with epilepsy can experience.
	The Department has worked to reduce the level of stigma experienced by those with epilepsy by raising awareness of the condition among the public. In this respect, NHS Choices provides the public with information about epilepsy, including information on living with the condition.

General Practitioners

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much and what proportion of individual GP income was (a) part of the GP's basic contract and (b) performance related in each year from 1999;
	(2)  what proportion of the monies allocated to GP practices was derived from the Quality and Outcome Framework in each of the last 10 years.

Daniel Poulter: The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) was introduced as part of the new general practitioner contract arrangements in 2004-05. This provides additional rewards to practices based on performance against a range of quality measures.
	The proportion of total funding to practices from the QOF for each year is shown as follows.
	
		
			  Percentage funding from QOF 
			 2004-05 9.8 
			 2005-06 14.9 
			 2006-07 14.0 
			 2007-08 14.1 
			 2008-09 14.1 
			 2009-10 13.6 
			 2010-11 13.8 
			 2011-12 14.3 
		
	
	The remaining percentage of funding relates to the other contractual funding streams.

General Practitioners

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the (a) mean average, (b) median average, (c) upper quartile and (d) lower quartile NHS income per annum for (i) GPs and (ii) GP practices in each year from 1999-2000.

Daniel Poulter: The information asked for is not all available in the form requested.
	The Information Centre for health and social care publishes GP Earnings and Expenses data annually from data taken from HM Revenue and Customs tax returns that covers both national health service and private income.
	The GP Earnings and Expenses report only provides details of mean and median average gross income for general practitioners (GPs), with quartile data not available. Median average figures are not available prior to 2009-10.
	
		
			 £ 
			  Mean average Median average 
			 1999-2000 144,946 n/a 
			 2000-01 158,605 n/a 
			 2001-02 166,965 n/a 
			 2002-03 191,077 n/a 
			 2003-04 212,467 n/a 
			 2004-05 241,795 n/a 
			 2005-06 257,563 n/a 
			 2006-07 260,764 n/a 
			 2007-08 266,110 n/a 
			 2008-09 274,100 n/a 
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10 278,100 242,700 
			 2010-11 283,000 245,600 
		
	
	From this gross income, GP contractors need to meet their practice expenses and will retain the remainder as practice profits.
	The Information Centre also publish the Investment in General Practices report which sets out total funding for practices in England. They also publish details of the number of GP practices. The relevant information from these two publications is shown in the following table with the mean average calculated from these two figures. The median and quartile information is not available.
	
		
			  Total investment in GP practices (£ million) Number of GP practices Mean average (£000) 
			 1999-2000 3,432 9,034 380 
			 2000-01 3,624 8,965 404 
			 2001-02 3,714 8,910 417 
			 2002-03 4,060 8,833 460 
			 2003-04 5,811 8,833 658 
			 2004-05 6,914 8,542 809 
			 2005-06 7,747 8,451 917 
			 2006-07 7,757 8,325 932 
			 2007-08 7,867 8,261 952 
			 2008-09 7,957 8,230 967 
			 2009-10 8,321 8,228 1,011 
			 2010-11 8,349 8,324 1,003 
			 2011-12 8,397 8,316 1,010 
		
	
	The number of practices is at 30 September each calendar year.

General Practitioners

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that GP funding is allocated according to the health needs of the population in each practice.

Daniel Poulter: We are currently consulting with representatives of general practice on fairer, more equitable core, funding arrangements for general practitioner practices. These will ensure resources are allocated on the basis of the number of patients on practice lists, with appropriate weightings for factors such as age and deprivation that are related to health needs. This would end the current inequitable funding of practices based on historic income, with changes to practice funding phased over seven years, starting in 2014.

General Practitioners

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) mean average, (b) largest and (c) smallest global sum payment made to GP practices was in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of average GP practice allocation was derived from the global sum element in each such year.

Daniel Poulter: Global sum payments were introduced in 2004-05 as part of the new General Medical Services contract and are calculated by the NHS Applications and Infrastructure Service (NHAIS).
	The information requested, based on NHAIS data, is set out as follows:
	
		
			  Mean global sum (£) Largest global sum (£) Smallest global sum (£) Average global sum income as percentage of total practice NHS income (%) 
			 2004-05 314,613 1,361,633 76 52 
			 2005-06 326,310 1,760,056 73 47 
			 2006-07 336,340 1,548,595 58 46 
			 2007-08 339,665 1,518,353 68 45 
			 2008-09 353,766 1,613,154 22 46 
			 2009-10 397,674 2,117,667 26 49 
			 2010-11 405,450 1,805,289 26 51 
			 2011-12 415,795 2,446,096 65 51

General Practitioners

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what unit payment was made to GP practices for each directed enhanced service commissioned in each of the last 10 years.

Daniel Poulter: Directed enhanced services were introduced in April 2004 as part of the current arrangements for the provision of primary medical services. The table shows those directed enhanced services which were available to primary medical services contractors in each year since 2004.
	Payments for participating in the schemes are set out in the Statement of Financial Entitlements (SFE). A copy has been placed in the Library—along with copies of subsequent amendments.
	As the process for calculation of payments due under each scheme can vary, it is not possible to reproduce an individual unit price for each scheme.
	
		
			 Name of Service 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Improved patient access Yes Yes(1) Yes Yes Yes — — — — 
			 Childhood Immunisation Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Influenza and Pneumococcal Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Minor Surgery scheme plans Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Service for Violent Patients Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
		
	
	
		
			 Quality Information Preparation Yes — — — — — — — — 
			 Towards Practice Based Commissioning — — Yes — — — — — — 
			 Information Management and Technology — — Yes — — — — — — 
			 Choice and Booking — — Yes Yes — — — — — 
			 Extended Access Scheme — — — — Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Alcohol Related Risk Reduction — — — — — Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Ethnicity and First Language Recording — — — — — Yes Yes — — 
			 Learning Disabilities Health Check — — — — — Yes Yes Yes Yes 
			 Heart Failure Treatment — — — — — Yes — — — 
			 Osteoporosis Diagnosis and Prevention — — — — — Yes Yes — — 
			 Patient Participation(2) — — — — — — — Yes Yes 
			 (1) This scheme was revoked from 1 April 2006. A new scheme was introduced from July 2006. (2) Two year scheme.

General Practitioners: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints he received on waiting times to see a GP in the Ashfield primary care trust area in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Norman Lamb: This information is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact the local primary care trust for this information.

Health

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to publish the names of those companies who (a) sign up and (b) decline to sign up to his Responsibility Deal; and if he will publish the progress of each company which signs up against its commitments.

Norman Lamb: The Responsibility Deal (RD) website at:
	http://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/
	was launched on 15 March 2011 and includes the latest news and up-to-date information about the Deal.
	Full details of the Deal's partners and the pledges they have signed up to are listed under the ‘our partners’ section of the website at:
	http://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/our-partners/
	Partners report on their progress on an annual basis. The first annual updates from over 180 partners were published on the website in June 2012. These can be viewed under the ‘pledges’ section of the website at:
	http://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/pledges/
	autumn 2010, a range of organisations and individuals were invited to participate in the development of the Responsibility Deal. On the launch of the Responsibility Deal in March 2011, we invited these organisations to sign up to the Deal. Some individuals, such as academics or expert advisers, were and continue to be involved in a personal capacity rather than as representatives of organisations. Consequently, they cannot sign up as partners. The following is a list of the organisations involved in the development work which have not signed up to become partners:
	Federation of Small Businesses
	Diabetes UK
	Alcohol Concern
	Alcohol Health Alliance
	British Liver Trust
	British Medical Association
	Institute for Alcohol Studies
	British Heart Foundation
	C3 Collaborating for Health
	Men's Health Forum
	NHS Employers—signed up to the Responsibility Deal as part of the NHS Confederation
	Royal College of Physicians
	South East Chambers of Commerce
	TUC
	Transport for London
	BHF National Centre
	BSkyB
	CABE—organisation no longer exists
	Cycling England—organisation no longer exists
	Natural England
	Royal Town Planning Institute.
	The chairs of the RD networks, existing partners, public health professionals and officials in the Department of Health and other Government Departments promote the Deal to a wide range of organisations during the course of their work. We do not collate or publish information about these discussions.

Hospices

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people receiving care from hospices in the UK in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: The Department does not hold this information. Approximately 5% of patients who die in England each year die in hospices. The following statistics cover the number of deaths in hospices in England in each of the last five years that we have information for:
	
		
			  Percentage of total deaths in England in hospices Number of deaths in hospices 
			 2007 5.2 24,426 
			 2008 5.0 23,948 
			 2009 5.2 24,096 
			 2010 5.3 24,651 
			 2011 5.6 25,673 
		
	
	These figures do not include people who may have received hospice care in other settings.

Hospices

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to minimise the burden of regulation on hospices.

Norman Lamb: The Government recognises the valuable role that hospices play in delivering end of life care services, in particular for cancer patients. We are determined to ensure that any changes to regulation will not have a negative impact on hospices.

Nurses: Pay

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average pay was of registered GP practice nurses in each year since 1999.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not held centrally. General practitioners (GPs) are private employers and are therefore free to choose the terms and conditions upon which they engage their staff.
	The Department has issued job profiles for GP practice staff which suggested that practice nurses should earn the same as national health service staff within Band 5 of the “Agenda for Change” (AfC) payscales.
	AfC was introduced in 2004-05 and the maximum and minimum for Band 5 of the payscale for the years since then are as follows. As set out above, GPs are not obliged to pay their practice nurses these rates.
	
		
			  Minimum (£) Maximum 
			 2004-05 15,877 23,442 
			 2005-06 16,389 19,248 
			 2006-07 17,475 24,803 
			 2007-08 from 1 April 18,310 25,175 
			 2007-08 from 1 November 19,683 25,424 
			 2008-09 20,225 26,123 
			 2009-10 20,710 26,839 
			 2010-11 21,176 27,534 
			 2011-12 21,176 27,625 
			 2012-13 21,176 27,625

Obesity

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assistance with dieting the NHS provides to those suffering from obesity;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to help people make informed decisions about their diet.

Norman Lamb: Primary care trusts are responsible for commissioning health care services to meet the needs of their population including services for those who are obese. Health care professionals are encouraged to implement guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the "Prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children" and, where appropriate, implement their local obesity care pathway to ensure that patients receive the support they need to manage their weight.
	The NICE guidance is available at:
	www.nice.org.uk/CG43
	The Government has published “Healthy Lives, Healthy People; A call to action on obesity in England” which includes our commitment to helping people improve their diet through key initiatives such as the Responsibility Deal and Change4Life.
	Through the Responsibility Deal business is taking action at every level to make it easier for people to make better choices. For example calorie labelling has expanded rapidly in out of home settings with labelling now in around 9,000 outlets across the country; In addition the Government has announced its preferred approach to front of pack nutrition labelling to help achieve greater consistency and clarity and help consumers make healthier food choices.
	The Government has recently launched the Change4Life Be Food Smart campaign to give people information about the foods they eat, and help them make healthier choices.
	A copy of the ‘call to action’ has already been placed in the Library.

Obesity

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of (a) children and (b) adults were (i) obese and (ii) overweight when measured by body mass index in (A) Dudley North constituency, (B) Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council area, (C) the West Midlands and (D) England in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Norman Lamb: The information requested is not collected in the format requested.
	Information on the prevalence of obese and overweight adults in England is available in Table 4 of the Adult trend tables from ‘Health Survey for England—2011 trend tables’. This information is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/hse11trendtables
	Information on the prevalence of obese and overweight adults by Strategic Health Authority (SHA) is available in Table 10.4 of the “Health Survey for England—2011: Health, social care and lifestyles”. This information is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/hse11report
	Information showing the prevalence of children who are obese and overweight in England is available in Table 4 of the Child trend tables from “Health Survey for England—2011 trend tables”.
	Information on the prevalence of obese and overweight children by SHA is available in Table 11.3 of the “Health Survey for England—2011: Health, social care and lifestyles”.
	Information on the prevalence of obese and overweight children by region and local authority is available in the “National Child Measurement Programme: England, 2011/12 school year” tables 3A and 3B. In table 3A the geography is derived from the postcode of the school and in table 3B it is derived from the postcode of the child's home address. However, this information is only available for children in Reception year (four to five years) and year 6 (10 to 11 years). This information is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/searchcatalogue?productid= 10135&topics=0%2fPublic+health&sort=Relevance&size= 10&page=l#top
	This information has been placed in the Library.

Obesity

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged (a) under 18, (b) between 18 and 24, (c) between 25 and 64 and (d) 65 years and over in (i) Dudley North constituency, (ii) Dudley metropolitan borough council area, (iii) the west midlands and (iv) England were treated for obesity-related illnesses in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: The information requested is not collected in the format requested. The Health and Social Care Information Centre has provided a count of finished admission episodes(1) with a primary diagnosis of obesity(2) for residents in England(3), West Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA)(4), Dudley North constituency and Dudley local authority district, by age band for 2007-08 to 2011-12(5), This information is provided in the following table. Constituency data for 2007-08 are not available.
	
		
			   Age group 
			  Place of residence Under 16 16-17 18-24 25-64 65+ Unknown 
			 2007 -08 England 747 81 147 3,829 210 4 
			  West Midlands SHA 96 4 17 389 13 — 
			  Dudley local authority district 6 — * 40 * — 
			  Dudley North constituency n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			         
			 2008 -09 England 774 101 221 6,603 283 3 
			  West Midlands SHA 90 6 13 506 17 — 
			  Dudley local authority district — — * 34 * — 
			  Dudley North constituency — — * 11 — — 
			         
			 2009 -10 England 632 109 252 9,108 465 2 
			  West Midlands SHA 98 10 17 653 16 — 
			  Dudley local authority district * — — 24 * — 
			  Dudley North constituency * — — 8 *  
			         
			 2010 -11 England 525 89 286 10,094 571 8 
			  West Midlands SHA 73 9 24 770 27 — 
			  Dudley local authority district * — * 64 * — 
			  Dudley North constituency * — — 22 — — 
			         
			 2011 -12 England 495 89 302 10,288 562 — 
			  West Midlands SHA 88 8 27 804 37 — 
			  Dudley local authority district * — * 75 * — 
			  Dudley North constituency — — * 26 * — 
		
	
	
		
			 (1) Finished admission episodes. A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2) Primary diagnosis. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. The ICD-10 code for obesity is E66. (3) England. The England total includes patients who are resident in one of the 10 SHA areas in England (i.e. it excludes patients resident in an unknown SHA). (4) SHA of residence. The strategic health authority (SHA) or primary care trust (PCT) containing the patient's normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to another SHA/PCT for treatment. A change in methodology in 2011-12 resulted in an increase in the number of records where the PCT or SHA of residence was unknown. From 2006-07 to 2010-11 the current PCT and SHA of residence fields were populated from the recorded patient postcode. In order to improve data completeness, if the postcode was unknown the PCT, SHA and country of residence were populated from the PCT/SHA value supplied by the provider. From April 2011-12 onwards if the patient postcode is unknown the PCT, SHA and country of residence are listed as unknown. (5) Assessing growth through time (in-patients). HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. Note: Small numbers. To protect patient confidentiality, figures between one and five have been replaced with “*” (an asterisk). Where it was still possible to identify figures from the total, additional figures (with the smallest data loss) have also been replaced with an “*”. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Obesity: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to tackle obesity in Dudley; and what information his Department holds on the number of people in Dudley suffering from obesity.

Norman Lamb: In October 2011, the Government published ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A call to action on obesity in England’, which sets out how obesity among children and adults will be tackled in the new public health and national health service systems, and the role of key partners.
	The document sets out details of two new national ambitions for achieving a downward trend in the level of excess weight in children and adults by 2020, and sets out existing and proposed Government actions.
	A copy of the ‘call to action’ has already been placed in the Library.
	There are two sources of data from which relevant information about the prevalence of obesity can be obtained—the Health Survey for England (HSE) and the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). Neither source can be used to provide information in the exact format requested.
	Information on the prevalence of obese adults (men and women) aged 16 and over in England for each year from 1993 to 2011 is available in Table 4 of the adult trend tables from ‘Health Survey for England—2011 trend tables’.
	Information on the prevalence of obese adults (men and women) aged 16 and over by strategic health authority (SHA) for 2011 is available in Table 10.4 of the ‘Health Survey for England—2011: Health, social care and lifestyles’.
	Information on the prevalence of children aged two to 15 who are obese is available in Table 4 of the child trend tables from ‘Health Survey for England—2011 trend tables’. Information is available for children aged two to 10 and for children aged 11 to 15 and two to 15 combined in England, for each year from 1995 to 2011.
	Information on the prevalence of obese boys and girls aged two to 15 by SHA for 2011 is available in Table 11.3 of the ‘Health Survey for England—2011: Health, social care and Lifestyles’.
	Information on the prevalence of obesity in children by region and local authority is available in the NCMP in tables 3A and 3B accompanying ‘National Child Measurement Programme: England, 2011/12 school year’. In table 3A the geography is derived from the postcode of the school and in table 3B it is derived from the postcode of the child. However, this information is only available for children in school year reception (generally aged four and five) and school year 6 (generally aged 10 to 11). The latest year available is school year 2011-12.
	These tables have been placed in the Library and are available from the following links:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/hse11trendtables
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/hse11report
	www.ic.nhs.uk/searchcatalogue?productid= 10135&topics=0%2fPublic+health&sort=Relevance&size= 10&page=l#top

Organs: Donors

Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on presumed consent for organ transplants in England; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions he has had since July 2012 with Ministers in the Welsh Government on proposals to introduce presumed consent into the organ donation system in Wales; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the potential effect of measures in the Human Transplantation (Wales) Bill on organ donations and transplants in England; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: There are no plans to bring forward legislative proposals on presumed consent for organ transplants in England. In 2008, the Organ Donation Taskforce considered presumed consent in considerable detail looking at the clinical, communication, cultural, ethical, legal and practical aspects of opt-out legislation. Their second report, ‘The potential impact of an opt-out system for organ donation’, published in November 2008, did not recommend introducing an opt-out system at that time finding that while such a system might have the potential to deliver benefits, they were not confident its introduction would increase organ donor numbers. The taskforce felt there was some evidence that donor numbers may go down. For example, although the majority of faith and belief groups interviewed were positive about donation most were opposed to the introduction of opt-out legislation.
	Instead, the taskforce believed that a significant increase in donor rates could be achieved by acting on the recommendations in their first report, ‘Organs for Transplants’, published in January 2008, without the need for legislation and the costs and risks associated with introducing a new consent system. Implementation of the taskforce recommendations has seen United Kingdom donor numbers rise by 40% since then.
	The Explanatory Memorandum accompanying the draft Welsh Government Human Transplantation (Wales) Bill is not definite about the level of increase that is likely to occur with the introduction of opt-out legislation in Wales, but every additional donor could donate on average three organs to the UK pool for transplantation.
	Across the UK, we have made considerable progress over the last four years with a welcome significant improvement in organ donor rates. We wish to be certain that this progress can be maintained and discussions are ongoing with the Welsh Government looking at the policy, financial, operational and legal implications of their proposal on the UK donation programme.

Palliative Care

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to reform palliative care funding and funding for hospices; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to support hospices during the transition to a new funding system.

Norman Lamb: The Government set out in the coalition agreement a commitment to introduce a new per-patient funding system for palliative care. The new system will apply to ail providers of palliative care, including hospices, and will cover care for both adults and children. To take this work forward the then Secretary of State for Health set up the independent Palliative Care Funding Review (PCFR), which published its report in July 2011. The review made a number of recommendations designed to create a new funding system based on patient need.
	Following the recommendations made by the review, we have established eight pilot sites, of which seven cover adult services and one covers children's services. The pilots are collecting the data needed to inform the creation of the new funding system and will test the recommendations set out by the review. The pilot sites began work in April 2012 and are due to run for two years. The aim is to implement a new system in 2015.
	We will be working with organisations across the palliative care sector to enable all providers, including hospices, to prepare for the transition to the new system. The Department will be holding events to update national stakeholders of the work of the pilots in March.

Palliative Care

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will instruct health and wellbeing boards to prioritise end-of-life care.

Norman Lamb: Health and wellbeing boards will be established as local committees of local authorities and as such it is not for central Government to instruct boards or monitor their performance. Health and wellbeing boards will be responsible for developing a joint understanding of local health and care needs through joint strategic needs assessments (JSNAs); and a shared set of priorities and a strategy to address these in Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies.
	JSNAs will be the means by which the current and future health and wellbeing needs of the local population will be determined and must therefore be inclusive of the needs of the whole local population. However, it would not be appropriate for the Department to highlight any care group or area of need over another as this would risk undermining the purpose of JSNAs being an objective, comprehensive and—most importantly—a locally-owned process of developing evidence based priorities for commissioning.
	However, the Government is committed to improving the health and care experiences for those facing the end of life. We will do that by putting patients, their families and carers at the heart of everything we do. We are pressing on with implementing the Department's “End of Life Care Strategy”, which provides a blueprint for action along the entire end of life care pathway, from societal aspects through to bereavement.

Paracetamol

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions have been issued for the use of paracetamol in England in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: Information on the number of prescription items prescribed and then dispensed for paracetamol, in the community, in each of the most recently available five years, is as follows.
	
		
			 Prescription items for paracetamol written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in the community, in England(1, 2) 
			  Number (thousand) 
			 2007 16,062.4 
			 2008 17,398.4 
			 2009 18,791.5 
			 2010 19,889.6 
			 2011 20,879.1 
			 (1) Does not include items dispensed in hospitals, including mental health trusts, or private prescriptions. (2) Does not include preparations that contain both paracetamol and other chemicals, in combination. Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system; The Health and Social Care Information Centre, Prescribing and Primary Care Services.

Part-time Employment

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of staff in his Department work part-time.

Daniel Poulter: The proportion of civil servants in the Department working part-time is published as part of routine reporting on the Civil Service Statistics website at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-279335
	As at 31 March 2012 the proportion of civil servants in the Department who work part-time was 13%.

Pharmacy

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the cost to his Department was of administering the minor ailments service in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  which primary care trusts in England currently provide a minor ailments service via pharmacies; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many (a) children and (b) adults have received medicines via the minor ailments service in England in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: The Department sets the legal framework for national health service pharmaceutical services, which includes provision for primary care trusts (PCTs) to choose to commission minor ailments services from pharmacies as a local enhanced service. The cost of administering minor ailments services, where commissioned, falls on PCTs, not the Department.
	At the end of March 2012, 3,537 community pharmacies in 82 PCTs were in contract with a PCT to provide a minor ailment service. The PCTs commissioning these services were:
	Ashton, Leigh and Wigan
	Barking and Dagenham
	Blackpool
	Bolton
	Bradford and Airedale Teaching
	Bristol Teaching
	Bury
	Calderdale
	Cambridgeshire
	Camden
	Central and Eastern Cheshire
	Central Lancashire
	City and Hackney Teaching
	Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
	County Durham
	Coventry Teaching
	Croydon
	Darlington
	Doncaster
	Dorset
	Ealing
	East Lancashire
	East Riding of Yorkshire
	Gateshead
	Greenwich Teaching
	Halton and St Helens
	Hampshire Teaching
	Haringey Teaching
	Heart of Birmingham Teaching
	Herefordshire
	Hounslow
	Hull Teaching
	Islington
	Kirklees
	Knowsley
	Lambeth
	Leeds
	Leicester City Teaching
	Lewisham
	Lincolnshire Teaching
	Liverpool
	Manchester
	Medway Teaching
	Mid Essex
	Newcastle
	Newham
	North Lincolnshire
	North Tyneside
	North Yorkshire and York
	Northumberland Care Trust
	Nottingham City
	Nottinghamshire County Teaching
	Oldham
	Peterborough
	Portsmouth City Teaching
	Redbridge
	Richmond and Twickenham
	Rotherham
	Salford Teaching
	Sandwell
	Sefton
	Sheffield
	Somerset
	South Birmingham
	South Staffordshire
	South Tyneside
	Stockport
	Stoke on Trent Teaching
	Sunderland Teaching
	Sutton and Merton
	Tameside and Glossop
	Tower Hamlets
	Trafford
	Walsall Teaching
	Waltham Forest
	Wandsworth
	Warwickshire
	West Essex
	West Kent
	West Sussex Teaching
	Western Cheshire
	Wolverhampton City
	Information on the number of people using pharmacy-led minor ailments services is not collected centrally.
	Source:
	Health and Social Care Information Service